We, the People

Blog68:

We are ordinary people

Doing extraordinary things

Tending our families
Building infrastructure
Educating minds
Leading progressive movements

 

We are ordinary people

Doing extraordinary things

Developing communities

Caring for the elderly, the sick

Creating possibilities for world peace … cooperation

 

We are many men, women and children
We come from distinct races or live in multicultural groups
We have common and diverse beliefs, religions, and creeds
We speak the same or different languages
We live on flat lands, high lands, the waters
We choose to clothe ourselves or let our bodies get openly warmed

We are many men, women and children
We decide what home suits our climate and weather
We make our own rules and live by them
We wonder, we dream, we wish, we hope, we pray
We grieve, we tire, we hunger, we cry, we endure
Above all … we love, and let that love nurture our lives!

 

We are the Public …
We are the Society
We are the Human race, the Humankind, Mankind!

Peek into a Vibrant City

Blog67:

A few hours from now, I head back to life left behind in NC.  In my mind are the stark differences New York City (NYC), offers in contrast to Greensboro (GSO), my North Carolina city/roots in this new world, the U.S.A.

NYC can’t be compared with GSO in terms of movement, recreation, awareness-focused groups or like activities.  Greensboro, NC is a way sleepier as a developing urban area, and it is much too much spread out.  Even at the financial, commercial, and educational districts, driving in and around it is still the best and easiest transport.  NYC is richly flavored on all levels – cultural diversity, action, interest-serving leisure, programming of all kinds.  Transplanting yourself in a district (or borough, as is used commonly), requires literally walking and navigating its lay of the land.  It is by far the best way to discover and experience people, places and events, next to double decker tour buses. As an island, one can easily enjoy water and land access in a day.  Bikes of all forms, buses, cabs, train-subway-thoroughfare, boats and ferries are all accessible for movement.  Not so in GSO unfortunately.  While there are bike routes, they are few and in between.  Public buses are looked down upon, utility-wise, and are perceived to belong only to those who can’t afford to own and park a car.  Trains and interstate connecting buses are available, but only a few people access them.  Carolinians favor car travel and air flights as movement access, unlike NYC residents.

Streets are more amazingly interesting in NYC as well.  Almost in every corner at which people arrive in their ‘walk from point A-B, signage, crosswalks and warning lights are prominently set up.  The city evidently addresses ‘people safety-first’. GSO has a general approach to all three, but in secondary streets, very few provisions for road safety are visible.  Streets, according to their structuring year, are either cemented, cobble-stoned, asphalted; there are very well-kept and unkempt road and street ways, lighted or not, just like everywhere else in the world!
 

GSO is fast becoming diverse in population, unlike the exploding standing of NYC population makeup.  In mid-8o’s, during the first few years of my residence in GSO, I could easily recognize and count on hand the foreign-operated agencies and establishments.  Today, organizations, food establishments, stores and services to immigrants from around the world have sprouted in leaps and bounds. People from all walks of life, immigrants and visitors around the world are beginning to notice my city.  Nowadays, there are as many people who claim and display their African-descent heritages: Egyptians, Liberians, Ghanaians, Nigerians, Togolese, etc.  Latin-Americans are dominantly represented by Salvadorans, Costa Ricans, Puerto Ricans, Chileans and the like, but especially Mexicans from south of North America; Indians, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese/Montagnards, Cambodians, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Burmese compete in representation from Asia; there are a handful of Filipinos I’ve met, but I have not come aware of whether or not there’s really a herd of us around.  Filipinos blend well and are commonly mistaken for Malaysians, which is probably OK, because we come from the same stock.  While population diversity has grown tremendously in the city, outward expressions of culture have not caught up.  NYC is far different.  It is expressive and even imposing of cultures coming together and living side by side in a positive way.  There appears to be great respect and welcoming attitude for newcomers, residents and those who have planted themselves: Europeans … Asians … Africans, some of whom were brought in against their choice, but nevertheless learned to become part of the melting pot or have distinctly prided themselves of ethnicity.  All in all, residents and visitors in New York present a tapestry of cultural mixtures that form pleasant coalitions of neighborliness, at least from my vantage point.  GSO is far behind in diversity acceptance or welcome.  In many ways, it is hostile to peoples of other heritage beyond its makeup.

An impressive fast-paced life in NYC dominates.  People are almost always on the go.  The streets are never asleep, it seems.  Vending shops are nudged at every block and corner and so are eateries.  All over the city one could choose to sample whatever taste is favored, whatever leisure is desired and whatever arts with what one is delighted to observe or participate. 

I think I’ve fallen in love with the City of New York in this particular visit more than I have in the past three other times.  I know that I’d like to get embroiled and meaningfully find myself lost in the crowd and the city’s vibrancy, and for many moments, at least for a little while longer, I don't mind forgeting the disciplines of living!

Sing the Blues Away ...

Blog66:

Grim weather outdoors always seem to dampen weather from within … my internal weather for one.  One look out the window and sure enough, it impacts my already sour and uneasy feeling brewing.  Inside one’s mind … heart (?) something isn’t right.  Blurry are the cause or causes, yet the sentiments scream loudly.  My mind pushes to take one more look at the skies.  One must be sure that the stark darkness is the real stealthy thief robbing me of what could be a bright, positive disposition on a carefree day.  One mustn’t go about carelessly blaming someone or something, but it wants to.  Thunder breaks my wishy-washy thoughts.  It reacts to the dark clouds churning and aiming to pounce.  It gets aggravated.  It rends a garish clap.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I might have dreaded wandering alone in the big city today.  It must be what’s gnawing inside me of which I refuse to openly admit. On foot, it is simple enough to navigate NYC.  However, with heavy clouds threatening an all-day downpour, getting around poses lackluster appeal.   The alternative has a shoddy face.  Moving transport, on the other hand, could pose an overwhelming complexity.  Should I just claim it?

Another likely unknown culprit embroiled in this awful mood is an absent company.  For instance, celebrating a meal and feasting on the laid out blessings at the table brings sedentary sensations.  How much pretending of a contented impression about life could I do today?  How far can I carry a staring stance in the midst of a crowd? A sense of perfect response to ambience or aura could not be fabricated in a sea of strangers and unfamiliar surrounding no matter how inviting it might be. 

What else diminishes a spirit ready to claim a vigorous and animated locale?  That would be a lonesome walk to a museum, a landmark, a park, a place of interest!  It will be solitude … lots of introspection … heaps of thinking … nothing more, nothing less.  Who wants it?  Not me.  Not today, or any day here.  Not in this city of exploding energy and stimulation.  Being in the BIG APPLE requires gregarious, unreserved, expansive “everything” !!!

Take a walk ...

Blog65:

Walk …
Walk a block …

Walk a few more blocks …

Where might this road take me?

What's out there to uncover?

Walk a bit more …
And marvel at structures ahead!

 

Brownstone buildings in front of me

Sky-reaching buildings behind me

Limestone, sandstone, cobblestone facades to the left and right of me

Tall and grand
Old and new
Handcrafted, engineered, sculpted, decked!

 Pick up the pace now!

Tread on dusty walkways

Step … Stroll … Stride …

Caution light warns
Come to a halt
Wait … watch …
Now move with the small gathered crowd
Pick up the pace again!
Move … on foot still …amble faster now …

Where have I arrived?

Madison Square Garden, NYC
Limousines parade …
Guards at the ready-
“After you, Madam!” or “Wait please, Sir!”
Shutterbugs angle cameras
“Click … click … and more clicks.”
Celebrities sashay … swagger … prance …
Enough spotlights!

Pick up the steps faster ...
Speed up a bit now!
27^th Street … 30^th … 34^th Street …

There it is at last …

The red Star marker …

I have arrived at my STOP!

Hmnnn … to which door?
Revolving door … Push or Pull door …
Take a pick and get lost indoors

Of MACY’s stores!

 Perfumery fragrances whiff the nose

Treated leather bags scream their waft

Splashes of hues abound and dance …

Flushes of lights explode and burst …

Sparkles of dress jewels scintillate the eyes!

Head up to the upper floors ...
What’s up there?
Ride the escalators and stretch the surprise

Whoa!  Shoe garden!
A world of its own …
A parade of creations for the sole …

Let shopping begin!

Location NY

Blog64:

Location NY … so much to sing, breathe, live out loud!

 

On Yom Kippur … holy day of prayer and celebration

At Battery Park …

People come together

As if an invitation just got out

And all dash and roam every which way …

School boys on scooters

Pigtail-haired girls on skates

Thumb-sucking toddlers nap in strollers

Women and men pedal bikes

Wrapped in wind breakers, fashionable tights, and sporty shoes!

Bare tops or clad in breathable outfit

Out they race and ride the mild winds

Jog … walk … muse … stretch …

Laugh … cuddle …kiss … hold hands …

They sprint in pairs

They dart in hoards

They scuttle … alone!

Pet lovers parade their pride and joy …

          Bulldogs … Shih-tzus … Pomeranians … Dachshunds … Mutts!

 

At Greenwich Street … people gather on a more subdued resolve

Directions gathered … passes obtained …

People from all walks of life and nations

Bear long lines to pay tribute to the fallen and survivors

Of 9.11.01 World Trade Center assaults.

There, again almost majestic, resilient …

One WTC spire soars up the sky

Amidst workers and cranes hoisting steel beams, curtain wall panels

An Oculus comes to shape nearby

Core walls move on and up … slowly, but confidently!

One can’t avoid nostalgia …

One can’t evade somber, muted recollections of horrific times.

 

Turn at another corner and closely observe …

Shared memories surround the sites of dismal, dark milieu

In one scene, sweeping panoramic images

Of heart-wrenching recovery work

In another stand tributes to lives lost …

Still in a far distant corner, ‘Voices of Promise’

And at the center of it all … in a prominent locale …

Water Falls at Memorial Site mimics a cycle of repose:

It invites reflection on ‘courage … compassion of those who risked lives

It rejoices over those who hung on to life after the shocks passed

It revels on those who lived to reminisce on the splendor of life

It cheers on the wonderful memories of ones left behind.

 

Painful … sobering … agonizing … markers of aversion!

Astonishing … breathtaking … amazing rallying of compassion!

 

Location NY … so much to remember, reminisce, account!

Time ...

Blog 63:

Time – we either have so much of it on our hands, we don’t have it or it is running away from us – literally and figuratively.  Life structured around time could both be good and bad. 

When time is regimented, we don’t have to stress about how we go about our tasks.  Undertakings just go round and round like clockwork. We don’t have to worry about where we’ll be next and how we are getting there because we have allotted a period that we follow to the minute.  For instance, a bell schedule in school moves students in and out of a course, a place, even if minds are not almost always in sync with those changing locations and stages.  In a factory, a clock sets the start and finish times of every item to be completed.  Everything becomes almost mindlessly robotic with exceptions of human emotions playing along or getting sidetracked in intervals.

It is when we live through unregimented time that we fall out, get behind, and sometimes, become overwhelmed.  Our mindset does not follow a discipline of either a linear or horizontal paths.  We loathe or love our free set up to plan how our day … week … month … even year because we don’t know how things and situations might move along.  We either push ourselves to get things accomplished or get nothing done at all.  This is true in the situation of a corporate manager perhaps.  One finds herself/himself loosely get to a workplace (not necessarily a physical spot!), touch base with people by phone, through an e-conference call, intercom or e-mail;  one finds he/she could hold a meeting on personal discretion, be someplace near or far at one’s pace, season, schedule.  We think this is serendipity, but it’s not!  This is a “do” or “die” with business transactions, moving money in the markets, making life/death and economic decisions.

We are always going to be governed by time that we set for ourselves or time that others will set for us.  What we do with our own beat, however we program our days in our lifetime is our own business. Whether we are comfortable with regimented or unregimented time is not the most crucial concern.  In our lifetime, we must guarantee that we can ethically account for our time.  How we use it and whether someone is benefited by our input and time matters!

Stream of consciousness(7)

B62:

11:07             Why is it that when tasks rain, they really pour?  ‘Got to be more organized with time.  For instance, tackle easier and quicker items to complete.  Prioritize what could be done in segments!  

                        Hmmmnnn … who will need to be engaged with the psychologist … speech therapist this week?  How many contact hours should be provided for each of the students to achieve greater impact on skill mastery?

1:04               It’s midday, yet I still feel uneasy about stacking up paperwork: parent notifications, screening docs, literacy groupings, skill outlines – per performance task --- you read that right!  There are Rolly, Julie, Trin who have not increased a reading level.  And … what’s up with Alllie today?  Why has she not demonstrated fluency? 

3:28               It is almost the end of work time, but there are two after work meetings:  Which one do I attend?  Which one do I table?  I better go to the academic one where the head honcho strictly said was a ‘must attend’.  I definitely don’t want my head on the plate. 

                        A parent came in to the office today; she had extra hours on hand before her community college classes and wanted to know if I needed assistance on anything.  What great blessing to be asked!  I took that invitation without much thought, and scrambled my outbox for paperwork waiting in line.  Once I found and gave it to her, her hands floated quickly on the keyboard and soon enough, seven pages of typing were done- just like that! 

“Anything else I could do for you or anyone?” she asked. 

“Not at the moment, but let me know when you could come again,” I shared.

“I will come back tomorrow; get me some work, OK?” she reminded before heading out the door.

What can I say?  Sometimes, we do not think we’re favored.  Today, I felt supported, important and truly fortunate to get relief and help from someone! 

4:19               Once in a while, we meet people who generally are good and authentic with their words and actions.  A colleague, Ms. T,  spoke about the progress of one child who has had a history of falling into the cracks- ignored, forgotten, passed over … just because he has challenges in retaining information, and decoding what must be fluently read, so we think!  Ms. T shared how quickly the student worked today on sequences of tasks, offered opinions and began writing his thoughts without prodding.  She had kind words for the child and encouraged him to do some writing, lots of thinking, and illustrating concepts.  It was amazing what the child was able to do just because someone in the building thought that with patience and perseverance – indeed, those two hard to find traits these days would really do wonders.  But especially, belief in the child’s ability to rebound, and actually perform, did the magic!  Way to go, Ms. T!

6:10              Dinner and chores are now done.  Critters have been played with; they appear satisfied (Grilled chicken was just sumptuous!).  Hurdles of the day are almost accomplished.  Planning for the next work day’s tasks, the upcoming trip’s itinerary, and writing notes for what’s to be left behind with folks who’d execute tasks in my absence require prioritizing.  Deciding what’s more important from a plateful of “must do’s” surely can be challenging.  With patience though, yes … patience, and strategizing all can be achieved!

Tears and Joy

Blog61:

 I am a child of tears

Born out of chaos of mind and body-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I felt abandoned … deserted … remote …

 

I am a child of tears

Deliberated in pain-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I formed deceptive thoughts about existence …

 

I am a child of tears

Considered in haste-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I troubled heavens with my senseless cries …

 

I am a child of tears

Conceived in revulsion-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I created blurs to survive tumultuous years …

 

I am a child of joy

Born out of serenity-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I felt fortunate … loved … adored!

 

I am a child of joy

Deliberated in ecstasy-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I formed hopeful thoughts about existence!

 

I am a child of joy

Considered in wondrous pleasure-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I thanked heavens with my adoring words!

 

I am a child of joy

Conceived in exultation-

When I began realizing life’s hows and whys

I created distinct memories of my blessed years!

Autumn

Blog60:

Farewell summer time … 
Your light is diminished
Your energy lessened
Your vibrancy reduced.

Welcome fair autumn!
Your cool, tiptoeing breezes caress
Your colors glowingly explode
Your climate cozily warms.

Farewell summer time …   
Gone is your vigor
Gone is your drive
Gone is your dynamism.


Welcome radiant autumn!
Your breath calms nature

Your mild light dances in the horizon

Your temper invites greenery to take its natural course.

Fall … autumn …
Energizes funfair
Gathers everyone to the grounds
Bazaars, exhibitions, circuses come to life
Carnivals show off delight
Harvests generate feasts!       

Rhythmns ...

Blog59:

Attend to clothing!

Sort … take a pile to laundry room … measure …
Shall we use liquid or powder detergent?
What’s required? Color-safe or white cleansing stain remover?
Set the machine: cotton or linen? silk or wool? 
Decide: small, medium or large load?
Timer: permanent-press … delicates?
Launder … dry … fold … hang … press … sort
And put in wardrobe or item-specific drawer.

Attend to dishes!

Scrape … sort … pile … soak …
Wash by hand? 
Scrub … rinse … dry … sort
Set in dishwashing machine?
Timer: Delay wash or run it now?
Wait to dry …
Re-sort … re-stack …
And organize in compartment-specific or rack resting bed.

Attend to living space!

Discard paper … re-organize misplaced things … etcetera … etcetera …
Sweep away crumbs and foreign items Cinn brought home
Vacuum corners and under furniture …
Gather messy, pesky fallen hair Dinky shed …
Wipe away … dust away …
Walls-ledges-furniture-anything exposed to dry skin flakes and air-collected debris
Mop floors … shine floors …

Attend to trash!

Cut … fold … cardboards …
Flatten empty soda cans …
‘De-cap’ bottles and jars …
Bag and tie newspapers … magazines …
Round up and collect room wastebaskets …
Empty receptacles …
Discard recyclables …
Fill recycling bins …
Drag them to road side; wait for them to be picked up
Take them back to corner spots.

 Attend to the outdoor grounds!

Trim hedges …
Rake leaves …
Cut dangling tree limbs …
Bundle twigs; recycle may be?
Turn mower motor …
Walk and cut the grass …
Blow away crushed twigs and fallen grass …
Sweat it out …
Collect and dispose of debris.

Attend to chores!

Live and breathe …

Attend to chores!

Smile … cry … shout … whisper …

Attend to chores!

Relax … revive … renew …

Attend to chores!

Rest … breathe easy … take a nap …

Attend to chores!

Play … live … love …

Attend to chores!

Dance and sing to the rhythms of daily life!

We the People ...

Blog58:

We the People ...

We are ordinary people

Doing extraordinary things

Tending our families

Building infrastructure

Educating minds

Leading progressive movements

 

We the People ...

We are ordinary people

Doing extraordinary things

Developing communities

Caring for the elderly, the sick

Creating possibilities for world peace … cooperation

We the People ...

We are many men, women and children

We come from distinct races or live in multicultural groups

We have common and diverse beliefs, religions, and creeds

We speak the same or different languages

We live on flat lands, high lands, the waters

We choose to clothe ourselves or let our bodies get openly warmed

We decide what home suits our climate and weather

We make our own rules and live by them

We wonder, we dream, we wish, we hope, we pray

We grieve, we tire, we hunger, we cry, we endure

Above all … we love, and let that love nurture our lives!

 

We the People ...

We are the Public …
We are the Society
We are the Human race, the Humankind, Mankind!

Words ...

Blog57:

Words …

           Strings of sounds and symbols
            Put together, they make sense
           Put apart, they confuse
Words …
           Something said
           Something written
           Worthwhile, significant, valuable
Words …
           When stated, uttered …
           They warn
           They give an advice
“In other words” … an expression-
           Allows one to repeat thought
           What for?
           Get Clarity! Put emphasis?
Words …
           “Spread the word …”
            Say a word
            Write a word
            Print a word
             Spread news by “word of mouth!”
            Make thoughtful words known!
Words …
           We make them whisper
           We make them shout
           We make them angry
Words …
           We gently say them
           We caressingly speak them
           We persuade with them
Words …
           We hurt with them
           We tear out one’s heart with them
           We smear with them
Words …
           Can we make them count?
           Can we make them meaningful?
           Can we make them instruments of goodwill?

At Odds?

Blog56:

How do you act when situations are at odds with your principle, plan of action, viewpoint?

It’s so easy to confront a person or persons embroiled in situations to which we’re at odds.  You’d think that confrontation is really the right action to take, but having the courage to be honest, firm and diplomatic about our position is another thing.  Personalities could clash, coolness could instantly fly, and words exchanged could get out of control and hurt feelings.  I was in this predicament earlier in the year.  A wrong piece of information was shared at a meeting of which I was a part, but no one had the guts to address it or the person who presented.  I was broiling within, but likewise took the easy way out of the contention by shutting up my mouth.  I needed to cool off my heavy head and heart for a few days, gather my wits, and then take steps to clarify my disagreement with the issue brought in the open.  I called the person involved, set up a meeting to chat and out I went with what I had to say.  The person sat across me, listened, and then shared her revised information.  I was surprised at how smoothly that conversation went along.  I was further taken aback that the person had actually gone over the wrong information and made a decision to clear out the matter at the next group’s gathering.  I thought back into it and told myself I was fortunate to get that ironed out without a hitch.  Getting thoughts collected, cooling off and accepting a mistake to make it right served well in that case.  I was contented with the process.

Living positively with what you can on an issue you do not readily accept, is another strategy that people take when at odds with it.  Sometimes, there aren’t simple responses, steps or decisions to quickly grab onto when a circumstance is at hand.  Decision by consensus allows participants to look at solutions at the table and gives choices as to what one is willing to accept and enact.   Recently, friends wanted me to see a film with them which I didn’t want to spend money or time.  My friends asked me to think about it and check out the book from which it was based, and then we’d get back together to discuss its pros and cons before a verdict: watch the film or don’t watch it at all.  I did just that.  I even sought the film’s reviews.  I was astounded by the depth of theme and purpose of the book made into film.  My friends were right in wanting me to see the movie with them.  Moreover, I was thankful that they encouraged me to learn more about it so I could make a better decision instead of adamantly saying, “I didn’t want to do so on grounds of the title it ran alone”  From that experience, I realized the value of consideration, discussion, consensus!

To stand up for a personal belief and/or what’s right is a moral obligation in my view.  We do something because we know it yields the most good, and it allows us to sleep peacefully at night knowing a good turn is rendered.  Our day-to-day decision-making should be marked in the end by a clear conscience that what is right is what’s acted upon.  Following or ignoring road rules for instance could test our morality.  There aren’t short cuts worth taking when accidents could be prevented by observing yield, stop, and no passing signs on roadways.  Returning what we borrow is good practice; it builds responsibility and good neighborliness.  Standing up alone or being resilient against pressures or temptations, lifts higher our courage and self-respect.  In an election, voting our conscience and considering people for leadership could decide progress instead of stagnation.  Stopping to pick up a turtle on the road and putting it away from harm’s way is a test of our diligence in protecting our earthly co-creatures.  Being of assistance to those around us, who otherwise could not help occasionally themselves, is not always about charity, but more so stands for our compassion.

When we’re able to offer an answer to a group conflict, it is a reflection of looking after everyone’s best interests.  When we further come together to put the best action plan and steps to solving divided sentiments faced by a group, it is insightful of consideration and inclusivity.  More heads thinking and processing to clear up a polarized opinion is better than no one focusing on a possible way out.  Take the situation of a family of six faced with hunger.  Would a parent with access to a loaf of bread hide it or equally divide it up so all six may eat?  Consider a conflict of viewpoints in a community where many cultures are represented and a program is planned to celebrate diversity.  Would the cultural group in the majority insist on showcasing itself with a month-long celebration instead of compromising with the rest of the group to have a month-long multicultural and diversity celebration? 

        Oftentimes there is no easy way in or out to something with which we’re at odds.  Putting our points of view, choices, action plans, solutions front and center, on the side or in the back burner to ride, overcome tests could cause us to give up our self-respect, demote our convictions, and delineate what’s personally important to us.  On the contrary, issues that require attention leading to conflict-resolution, peaceful negotiation or decision by consensus might be the path to take and still afford us to preserve our personal and moral stands.

 

What's down your feet?

Blog56:       

A story on a popular news-talk show yesterday featured shoes men and women wear and what they say about one’s personality.  I caught myself muttering, “Really … shoes tell about who we are?”  I shrugged that topic off, but I found it coming back. 

So – what do shoes have to say about us? 

Accordingly, shoes down our feet tell we are preppy, comfortable, cuddly, practical, athletic, fancy, energetic, and so on.  That may hold water.  From my end however, shoes are just what they are – footwear!  We wear them to protect our feet from dirt, water, and dangerous objects that could hurt or make us sick. 

The subject of shoes made me curious.  I got inquisitive enough to stare intently at my shoe-shelving unit and considered it a bit.  You read it right.  I own a shelving unit in my closet devoted to shoes alone.  I did discover that my collection falls into four like-grouping:  boots, fully-covered/laced, sandals and sling backs, mules, comfort-athletic, and conservative heels. 

I enjoy wearing boots in the cold weather.  My old, yet classy pairs either sport warm, cushiony linings, and time-tested leather which after several times of wearing begin to take just the right shape and fit.  They keep my feet and legs snuggly warm from cold wind and snow.  My fully-covered shoes are either slip-ons and loafer-like; I have several that are shoe-laced tops as well, with heels not higher than two inches – just the right height for normal-bearing and gait.  They do the job of protecting the feet year-round and are reminders of primary school-days; the laced ones give me feelings of security.  Sandals and sling-backs air the toes and sole of my feet during summer and spring seasons.  They are most comfy, relaxed, and casual … suitable for lazy-like wearing.  Except for three pairs I spotted, liked the fit, and purchased recently, I like them alright, but not as much as I like the loafers and shoe-laced ones.  The mules, fancy name for full-front with open back style, afford my feet’s desire to snuggle and breathe easy at the same time.  With socks or tights, they cozily wear and run.  Heels are my least-favorite.  They only get worn once in a while because they squeeze the feet tightly, and they are generally hard on the calves and legs.  Of all, they are most highly-priced, yet utterly distorting, but speak loudly of vanity!

Mickey, my beloved, doesn’t understand my want/need as well as those of other women, for different shoe styles and colors.  He wonders profusely over the pure delight experienced in having a collection of sort.  For him, it is enough to have only half a dozen pairs made for comfort-fit and bought with prices he justified spending for Finn’s, Clark’s, Willoughby’s, and Rockport’s.   And for colors, the old-fashioned blacks and browns suit his style just fine.  I got tickled that he picked up two pairs of sandals for weekend go-about, and a few pairs of name-brand athletic ones.  Sadly, most of them have now been relegated for grass-mowing work.

I still don’t know from which viewpoint the talk-show host was coming.  Assigning personality descriptors for shoes we wear is plainly absurd!  I’ll stick to my own reasons:  comfort, protection, purpose and variety-delight.  Delight in having a choice that suits my mood and that of the weather’s leaves me with cheery disposition. 

If footwear delights me, touches my sensibilities, and gets me perked-up and out on a ‘go’ for the day, I am satisfied.  After all, the ‘going and coming’, the beginning and ending of my day right down my feet tremendously impact my internal weather. 

 What do you think?  What’s your say on shoes down your feet, or do they even matter?