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Does
The Shoe Fit?
They say you don't know someone until you walk a mile in his
shoes. If you walked a mile in mine, you'd have to walk in heels. I'm more
comfortable in heels than flats - usually.
My luggage was lost when my husband and I went to Costa Rica. Lost luggage
wasn't a surprise. Wearing heels to climb over volcanic rock from a live volcano
was. Because hiking in heels was hazardous to my health, I did what I had to do
to make sure my luggage was found the next day. I bought hiking boots. I wore
them once.
Then there was the time John and I went to Sedona. Because we wanted to
experience the beauty of the red rocks, we took an off-road, jeep tour. A
long-haired, bead-wearing guide who chanted wasn't a surprise. Wearing heels to
climb a twenty-foot rock to commune with nature was. The guide was wearing
moccasins, John was wearing Nikes and I was the one who didn't fall. Mother
Nature protects her own.
The only place I wear athletic shoes is the gym; and to help ward off boredom
while I'm there, I shoewatch. Shoewatching is a type of peoplewatching. Thin
soles, thick soles; with laces and without; single or multi-colored; Nike,
Adidas or New Balance - they all have one thing in common. They're in perfect
condition. Don't body builders step in puddles? Don't they stub their toes?
There must be an unwritten rule that their feet have to look as "shoeper"
as their bodies.
Birkenstocks, however, aren't worn for looks. People who wear Birkenstocks are
serious about foot protection, about arch support and correct fit. On the
opposite end of the footwear spectrum are people who wear flip flops. People who
wear flip flops only care if they match. Flip flops are what my grandmother
would have called "a podiatrist's new car".
My grandmother was a sensible woman with several pairs of sensible foot
coverings. She definitely wasn't average. The average woman has nineteen pairs
of foot fashion.
I'm way below average. I have ten pairs, but I have a friend with over fifty.
Thankfully, this friend is male. It's not just female's who have footwear
fetishes. Of course, it might not be a fetish. Maybe people with lots of shoes
think self-improvement starts from the bottom up. Maybe people who buy designer
shoes think they're art. I couldn't walk on art.
Knight Pierce Hirst takes humorous looks at life. Take a minute to make yourself
smile at http://knightwatch.typepad.com
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