I had this idea, and I'm quite certain it's true, even though reality has not yet borne it out. My idea is that, instead of paying out the nose for a good pair of new shoes, one can frequent thrift stores and find a high quality used pair which will last much longer than Target or Payless shoes.
My last pair of Target shoes only lasted about a year, if that. So we went to the Salvation Army last month and I found a pair of shoes I thought fit me. I was wrong!
The soles were all uneven--they sloped down toward the toe, and the right sole was thicker than the left. I figured that if I just wore them long enough, the soles would get smashed down and evened out. And I think that actually has happened.
But the shoes are also easily half a size too big. I kept wondering why my feet and legs were sore and tired all the time. Then I realized: it's the horrible shoes! I thought those shoes were a bargain, but really, they were just a waste of three dollars!
Three dollars! We could have bought a carton of ice cream with that money!
So now I'm just wearing the flip flops I've had since I was eleven. I've had them for half my lifetime! Amazing!
Halloween:Then and now
1 year ago
3 comments:
I think it is valuable remember is that other people's shoes belong to them.
In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” Atticus said you never really knew a man until you stood in his shoes and walked around in them, shoes are like memory, the warehouse of experience. Memories are personal, as are shoes. Shoe Memory. Shoes isolate our feet to a particular existence, and cling to the memory (and sweat) of someone else. Of course, not wearing shoes is problematic as well. When God first revealed Himself to Moses from the Burning Bush, He said to him, “Remove your shoes from your feet.”
Shoes protect you from all the stones and thorns on the road, and eventually become suited to the particular paths they follow. However, when you walk barefoot, you feel every little stone and sharp thorn that you step on.
As Moses was being appointed to lead Israel, he was commanded to remove his shoes. Perhaps because he had to walk through life “barefoot”, so that he could feel and understand every little pain and every little sorrow and be a better leader.
Hurray for flip-flops! they protect the feet, but allow you to remain open to the opportunities for kindness.
wow, so you had a pair of sandals older than the ones we bought you when you were in Austin?! That's impressive.
I think you should go out and spend some money on yourself!
I did go ahead and buy some new sandals at Target today. Hurrah!
Regular shoes can indeed feel stifling and constricting. I do love sandals, but I've never understood people who continue to wear flip flops outside in Spokane or Boston in the middle of winter. There were times in Massachussetts that even with shoes and thick socks on, my feet became numb from the cold.
So glad to be in So. Cal.!
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