Creatively Wandering Feet.

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A creatively wandering mind is on vacation today… not really since its vacation is being spent packing for a trip. It is filling up my time and worrying me to death. It must be the ADHD because I have been trying on shoes for two days now to narrow it down to the two pair I will bring for more than a week away from home base. The record for the longest I have been able to wear any of those is about two and a half hours.

I usually wear only one pair at a time, rarely two. To be covered for all possibilities including going out to a nice restaurant; I will need at least two pairs and perish the additional charge for airline luggage, possibly three. This entire deal about shoes is messed up as far as I am concerned.

For over five years I only wore one pair of shoes. They were ecru colored Gor-Tex© and leather Vibram soled Rockport Walkers. I was like the state worker in the ‘60’s with my white belt that went with everything except these were shoes of mesh and leather, one size too big, according to the shoe salesman. I told him that if he was going to wear them than a pair the size he recommended was just perfect. If I was going to wear them then as far as I was concerned; I wanted the ones that left room for growth.

I went into a profound depression the day the shoe repairman at long last told me there was no more hope left for them. They had visited him many times and lived a good life but they would have to be retired. They were too beaten and bruised for rejuvenation or renovation. He figured four times around was more than sufficient. They probably just stunk too much for him to touch; possibly he is a Germaphobe.

Rockport still makes that style but somehow or the other the oversized Gor-Tex© option is no longer available despite some crank letters to the CEO of the company. I am holding out hope that the shoe outlet store (that offers even greater coupon discounts two days a month) is going to get a pair of ‘Rockport Hydroplex Mens’ in one size too large that I can add to my collection soon to see if they might replace those long dead but semiprecious Walkers that are now no where here on earth. The one thing about that I am certain of is if and when the ‘Rockport Hydroplex Mens’ show up it will not be before I hand the ticket agent my over sized duffel bag headed to Cape Cod.

After I got the unfortunate news from the shoe repairman, for a long time I went into an Imelda phase… hoping there was still that perfect pair out there and maybe if I bought enough shoes they would somehow magically appear in my closet. It didn’t happen. The Gor-tex© mesh spoiled me on leather or vinyl shoes and I had to let my feet breathe even if everyone else in the neighborhood did not appreciate the fact as much as I did.

Then I found that one particular pair of mesh Merrell running shoes with the elastic laces… those babies were more comfortable than slippers. I knew that there was no hope that the magic shoe repairman could do anything if they bit the dust so I bought a second pair before they were discontinued. Unfortunately I was not intelligent enough to order the third, fourth, fifth and sixth replacement pair at the time because when the first pair went south I started wearing the ‘dress pair’ I had kept in reserve. These beauties that I treasured and had fondled my feet only on those special occasions became my everyday shoe. The old everyday shoe became the not to be seen in public footwear.

Those now everyday shoes were shoe gooed and resewn by my loving hands until they began looking worse than the first pair that remain hidden deep in my closet and taken out and worn only on moonless nites. Somehow the newer more despicable one of those beloved pairs disappeared from the house. I don’t think DakotaDawg threw them away and I know it wasn’t me or the cats.

Merrell makes lots of styles of mesh shoes. Unfortunately none of the six replacement pairs of mesh running shoes are of the cherished style. All are now manufactured by robots or Asian children wanting to exact revenge by foot torment for having to make odd gray mesh shoes with capital M’s on the outboard sides.

So now I am left with the problem of what to wear outta town and what to pack in the ever growing duffel bag. Self imposed limit is two pairs of shoes and one pair of sandals. The ungainly Teva’s® get more uncomfortable the longer the Velcro keeps them strapped to my feet. Rather than having a smooth insole they have some logo or the other engraved into them. This is almost as annoying as when my socks get scrunched up in my shoes.

So one of the three allotted pair of footwear is those torturous Teva’s®

I started looking at the shoes I wear everyday. This is pretty much down to two pairs except for really special occasions like job interviews or fancy dinners. So I hardly ever wear anything but the scuffs or the not quite as comfortable Merrell replacements.

I start the day with my scuffs which I wear to let the DakotaDawg out for her morning constitutional. Sometimes these get a real workout if it is the weekend and I have to walk around front to get our weekend delivery only newspaper. They are really comfortable except for the raised pimples all over the insoles. Even with the thickest socks this Euro torture device becomes a more distracting nuisance the longer I wear the shoes. So these shoes are slipped on only briefly and removed immediately when we come back inside. At this rate of wear I figure to have to replace them in about 2045. I tried putting liners inside them but it was a FAIL… huge annoying raised pimples cannot be defeated. I parked them next to the back door for the morning.

I looked exceedingly carefully at the second pair of shoes I wear everyday. These are the pair I change into when walking DakotaDawg or leaving the house. They really deserve a vacation since they are the third most comfortable pair of shoes I have ever owned in my life. Technically, they are the fourth most comfortable because of the replacement Merrells that disappeared but that should not disqualify them from consideration. They have just gotten a little too ratty. It is not so much all of the paint on them. It isn’t that the soles are not as effectively attached to the shoes as they were when new. It is more like they look like shoes that would be rejected by even the most desperate shoeless homeless person in America. I spent a little time trying to scrape some paint off of them but decided they will not make the trip.

So today I have the eight pair of shoes I have worn all lined up in front of the duffel bag. None has distinguished itself as Frank Devasky’s Olympia Report Deluxe Electric with the exception of one pair in the amount of pain they could generate.

So I am going to bed thinking I will be digging through the other closet tomorrow and that .333 might be a great batting average but when applied to picking out shoes it really is not gonna cut it… especially when the .333 is pretty uncomfortable to wear.

Maybe I can glue a shoe liner on those Teva© logos and wear thick socks. At least I can’t hide any explosives in my sandals. Maybe I will see if I can hide the painted marvels somewhere in my carry on.

© 08.15.2010 steven d philbrick SR+ DakotaDawg