If the Shoe Fits

I realize that there are men who read this blog. I've written some stories and then realized that half of the population won't be not be interested in topic, so then I delete them before posting! But yesterday, I read all 52 steps of how to build a computer from a post titled "Sad, but true..." on Andrew's "My Random Blather", and found it quite amuzing, so that inspired me to just write this anyway!

Those who know me know I am short. Not just un-tall, but SHORT! I can't help it, it's in my genes. My folks are 5'2" and 5'5", and my sisters are 5'2". It probably didn't help that I started sneaking the leftover tea from my mom's teacups as soon as I was done with the bottle. Lets just say I was the lucky one in the family who never reached the 5'0" mark. Close...but no cigar.

Short people generally have smaller feet. My fate would probably have been a size 6 shoe like my sisters, however, unlike them, my feet were bound as a child.

You see...I was a Highland Dancer (which I may elaborate at another time, when I have a scanner to scan my FILM PHOTOS). Highland dance shoes are supposed to be worn tight. The tighter the shoe, the more prominent the point of the foot. So from the ages of 6 through 19, my feet were bound for hours a day, multiple times a week, depending of course on how often I actually practiced!

That left me with little size 5's.

People say that good things come in small packages, but with feet this small it is difficult to package my feet in ANYTHING!

Last weekend I spent 3 hours shopping. I hate shopping. My only pair of "work shoes" busted. Got them from the Sears Catalogue and they didn't last for too long.

I went to EVERY SINGLE store in Coquitlam Centre, a fairly large mall, and the ONLY store that sold size 5 shoes is Payless. There, size 5 is called "growing girls". That gives them permission to put the shoes together cheaply because, hey! Everyone will grow out of them before they break, right?

Wrong. And the selection? Wonderful!! That is, if you think "wonderful" refers to "My First High Heels" to "Cutesy Pink Sandals With a Bow" to "Runners Covered in Delicate Lace" to "Zebra Print Slippers". None of the above which I can wear (or ever would be caught dead wearing) to work. I am getting tired of wearing sandals to work in the rain!

Colin even took me to the only other 2 shoe stores I know of to see if I could find anything.

Hold on a minute. You need to read that last paragraph. This is significant for a few reasons.

A. Colin went to a store and it wasn't December 24
B. Colin went to a SHOE store
C. Colin DROVE me so I could spend MONEY on SHOES!

I am still in shock. But it was very nice of him and earned him more brownie points than I think he knows! Men...take notes.

It didn't matter though because no size 5's there either.

So I will continue walking around in the rain with my sandals until a shoe designer realizes that people with size 5 feet need shoes too.