Monthly Archives: May 2013

The Importance of Shoes

23 Thursday May 2013

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I have had issues with shoes since I was young. Not Imelda Marcos issues, just no-shoe-really-fits issues. Long, skinny, duck-like feet without the webs. In all of New York, only two stores carried my size. San Francisco, one. Tokyo? What was I thinking?

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Except for the fact that I had to wear crepe sole nurses’ shoes in junior high, the real story begins in Tokyo. I was a very lucky junior in college selected to go to the “Far East” with the State Department and the USO with a performance of Brigadoon. My first trip abroad, what to pack? This was before I knew the importance of shoes and I brought one pair of heels for special occasions, one pair of flats for all that walking. I did realize that shoes should be comfortable so the flats were old. I recollect that my toe was making a small hole but the trip was only for six weeks. They should last that long. Didn’t. The pale blue flats needed to be replaced. A shopping trip on the Ginza was in order.

IMG_6328This is a 9 1/2 narrow foot. I am in Tokyo. There is no such thing. When I walked into the shoe store, four charming young women in kimonos greeted me. What did I need? What type? What color? What size? My downfall. After much searching in the stockroom and much tittering behind fans (really, this was 1960!)their conclusion was that the only thing in the store that might fit would be the shoe box. Sadly, not an option and I left the store without the necessary shoes. Fortunately, I was able to shop at the military base stores so found something serviceable. Not stylish like my little blue flats, but shoes that almost fit.  So the flats were tossed into the trash basket, new shoes were on my feet.

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End of Tokyo shoe story? Not quite. As the group was boarding the bus preparing to leave, I looked out the window and spotted the little man who cleaned our rooms. He was happily running across the parking lot, blue flats flapping at his heels as he ran.

Recycled.

402I now know that shoes largely determine the success of the holiday.  Uncomfortable and you are always seeking the next bench.  The right shoes and you can walk forever.  The search for the perfect travel shoe has continued throughout the world. Forget Asia, too large. A travel mate in Vietnam ordered ten pair of shoes because her feet were so tiny. Sigh. Forget Europe, too skinny. Even the Ferragamo shoes don’t fit when I am in Italy.

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So, now I just take photographs of shoes, wherever I find them. I am constantly amazed at how many lost shoes are out there. Who wore them last? Why were they left? Where is the mate?

IMG_4866Where is the happy little man running across the parking lot in my discarded, fantastic, not-so-little blue flats?

Traveling with Flat Stanley

06 Monday May 2013

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My companion in the Middle East was a small paper cutout of Flat Stanley. For those who have never encountered Flat Stanley, he is a character in a delightful children’s book who travels the world through the mail enabled by his flatness. Creative teachers assign their young students the task of sending Flat Stanley to someone, preferably out of state, so that Stanley can have adventures and report back to his owner. My then second-grade grandchild, Eleanor, lucked out as I was about to embark upon an extensive tour of the Middle East and Stanley, flat, small, light, taking up very little room in my fanatically lightweight luggage, was welcomed to join me.

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He proved invaluable as a door-opener, ice breaker. Who could resist holding a small, paper doll in front of a pyramid, outside a souk, at the top of a mountain. Many encounters were with people who had no idea why they were being asked to hold him and pose for a photograph but were quite willing to do so. It was a bit like traveling with a small child except that he was hassle-free, never crying or shrinking in fear of strangers, never hungry and, that essential requirement, light.

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Early into the trip, my group was visiting the Great Sphinx of Giza. I whipped Stanley out of my backpack for the duty photo in front of the famous statue. Much to my surprise, a fellow traveler whipped out his Stanley and a friendship was formed. Six degrees of separation in action. We had many joint photos with our charges. They seemed to enjoy having a partner and I felt less ridiculous.

The two Stanleys journeyed through Egypt, sailing on the Nile, visiting Karnak, riding through the dunes on a camel, taking the early morning convoy to Abu Simbel and wandering through the rebuilt-stone-by-stone temples. They also climbed Mt. Sinai, basked in the sun on the Red Sea. I had to draw the line at snorkeling. My Stanley was already showing signs of wear and adding water was out of the question. The last photo of the two Stanleys was taken in Petra, Jordan looking down upon the Treasury (popularized in the third Indiana Jones movie.) It was the perfect time of day, sunrise, and they were the first pair into the site.

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Eleanor’s Stanley went on to Syria, a safari in Uganda and Kenya, played with the baby elephants in Nairobi, sat on the beaches of Zanzibar, but those are different tales for another time. Both made it safely back to their owners and into their classrooms laden with amazing tales of exotic places. Best friends forever.