Shoes

Consciously noting the shoes on the feet around, in front of, and beside me, is thought provoking. Ballet-type slippers on girls with nimble feet, leopard print flats on sleek, hair-helmeted blondes of a certain age, gucci fabric loafers on moms in tight jeans with four year olds in tow, florescent green soles on sport shoes of the hip, battery lit soles on the surprisingly too old, and the deep-gloss of a spit-shine, on fancy feet; each pair illuminating the personality of the wearer. An entire segment of the population wears athletic/running shoes in the colors dusty to filthy white. Why these are manufactured in the lightest of colors for folks who wear them everyday; does this color make them non-seasonal? And then there are the boots: tall, slender heels supporting glove leather tubes, suede tubes on wedge heels, pull-on, lace-up, fur-lined, knee-high, ankle length, thick soled, kitten heel,  all predominately in the colors brown and black. This week’s best however was walking toward me: lace-up logging-type boots in a red and black plaid that matched his shirt.
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She had to walk slowly but it worked. The rain was unexpected. Over her high heels she had created rain boots. She stepped each foot into a I-love-NY-plastic bag, then removed her feet and folded the mouth of the bag into the foot bed of the shoe. Reinserted foot. Ingenious. All she needed to complete the look was the sleeveless, gray trash bag coat I had passed earlier.