NEW SHOES

      Everything I owned, besides underwear, socks and school supplies, were used garage sale items. Shoes, clothes, toys, furniture – all used. And wearing other people’s shoes sucks! Now, on the rare occasion that I did get something new, or even a really awesome used item, I wanted to enjoy it to its fullest during every waking moment. And when I had to go to sleep, I would continue my enjoyment by wearing the new item or putting it next to my pillow so it can be the last thing I see as I doze off and the first thing I see when I wake. This may seem obsessive, but you tend to really, really appreciate the rare new things you get when you're used to getting nothing.  

      Just before the start of my 6th grade school year, my mother granted me the chance to pick out a new pair of shoes. 6th grade meant starting a whole new school where the middle school shared its location with the high school. It was very important to make a good first impression since I would be at this school for the next 6 years. With a cool new pair of shoes, the other kids may be able to overlook all my outdated clothes, bad teeth and wild hair.   

     My mother took me to the nearest discount shoe store and narrowed down the selection to fit into her price range. Pickings were slim, and out of the few acceptable last season's sneakers, I chose some white low-top Reebok Freestyle classics. These shoes were a compromise. They may have at one point been popular as high-tops, but in the low-top form, they were straight-up lunch lady shoes. Oh, but they were new and that was most important! I was going to be the first person to wear these and break them in.

       We brought them home and I slipped them on and wore them all over the house, but not outside, keeping the soles clean in anticipation of my 1st day of school. At bedtime they stayed right on my feet and under the sheets. Let me tell you, wearing shoes to bed is very uncomfortable and you tend to wake up a few times from the pain. It did not deter me. 

       First day of school arrives and I’m up early, quickly showered and immediately back in my new shoes. My mom walks me to the bus stop about half a mile away and I’m noticing a little tightness around the tips of my toes and there’s even a bulge developing at my big toes. Being unfamiliar with new shoes, I assume all this will work itself out when I break them in. Imagine my surprise when, by lunch period, a gaping hole has already appeared on the front of my right shoe, exposing my sad little green sock-covered toe. Embarrassed, I had to finish out my first day trying to keep my right foot out of sight, which is hard to do when you need both feet for walking.
 

      All the excitement and promise that these new shoes were supposed to bring -- torn up like cheap leather by a big toe. By the second day of school I was back to wearing someone else’s old throw-away shoes. But, at least they weren't "open-toed".