There and Back Again

I was walking back to work from a well-deserved coffee break yesterday when the funniest sight caught my eye. I was just minding my own business that hot afternoon, thinking about whether or not the new John Mayer CD I just purchased was as impressive as the first CD or not, and silently thanking God that the weekend was in the offing and that I finally completed the report I was writing in response to a Civil Service Commission appeal our office is facing. I was quietly making the 4-block trek back to my humble little office where everyone was wearing blue American Heartwalk t-shirts because it was that time of the year, when I noticed this girl a block away from where I was, walking towards me.

From afar I could see that there was something odd with the way she was walking but without my glasses on, I couldn’t really pinpoint why. Though I have to mention that her whole get-up was pretty noticeable to begin with. If she didn’t have an odd walk, I would have still noticed her. This lady was wearing peach from head to toe. I mean, bright peach…as bright as the color peach can go. She was as bright as a “Construction Ahead” sign glimmering in the sun. Her headband was peach-colored, her three-piece suit was the same color as her headband and you guessed it, so was her handbag! And a pair of shoes - same shade as everything else - capped the whole outfit. It wasn’t when she was a few steps from me when I finally noticed the shoes and as I noticed the pair, I realized what was wrong with her walk.

This poor lady had on a 3-inch stilleto heels that wobbled under the weight of her body. The heels were dangerously too high and too damn thin that if she were to walk normally, she’d have broken her heel - or neck - after 3 steps. So to eliminate the danger of the heels snapping or giving away beneath her, she walked short steps, almost like a mini-hop with the other foot kind of dragging behind. She looked miserable and, laugh out loud, downright funny. She reminded me of Sadako - the evil child terrorizing everyone via the TV set in that Japanese mystery/horror movie, Ringu from which The Ring was based.

Why, oh why was she wearing such miserable shoes? Did she think she was in one of the runway shows in New York’s on-going Fashion Week? I guess she thought it accentuated her look, the way high heels always seem to make certain outfits look fab (though I doubt it’s attainable with the color peach). But why sacrifice comfort and safety for beauty when you can have both? There are 3-inch shoes that have wider, safer heels and compliment such an outfit without ruining the posture and walk. They may not come in the color peach but hey, you can always have white shoes dyed to match.

I have made mistakes of buying shoes cause they looked pretty on my feet but were pure physical torture. Though it hurt my pocket book and ego that I had to give ‘em up after one use, my feet was profusely thankful. It’s just not worth being miserable for the sake of looking pretty. Comfort should always come first and the rest will follow.

Until next entry.