Sunday, October 10, 2010

I did walk 500 miles and I did walk 500 more

Friday morning I stepped out of my apartment building and in to a crisp fall morning. Glancing briefly down at my Rainbow sandals, I thought about backtracking to change into some warmer shoes. But since Rainbow weather is quickly coming to an end, I kept moving forward. Not five seconds later -- whop -- my flip flop strap broke.


These shoes are five years old, perfectly broken in and perfectly molded to my foot. Now, because they are so worn, the tread is gone and the shoe itself is so smooth my foot doesn't always stay in it whilst I walk.


I shouldn't be surprised that the portion of the strap that started fraying three summers ago should finally give out. Though I am surprised that it broke just outside of my apartment building and not somewhere along my commute, like on the metro escalator or four blocks into my eight block walk to the metro or four blocks into my eight block walk to the office.


They were good shoes. They've been with me since the summer of junior year, purchased to carry me across Europe. Which they did, from England to Germany to Austria to Spain to France to Italy...


...back to Chapel Hill, including graduation...


...and to everywhere I've been since.


On hot days, on cool days, in rain, in sand, in the Red Clay Mud Incident of '06, they were there. Au revoir brown rainbows, skinny strap, it has been a good run. (Well, technically, a good, long, walk.)



1 comment:

  1. I feel your pain and I mourn for your loss...
    Your loving aunt Shannon

    ReplyDelete