Shoe shopping can be fun, but not for me. I have to shop online. Try walking into any store looking for a size 5 that doesn’t have a Disney character, or flashing lights….dare you! It can happen, but it’s rare and not worth the hunt. Online it is.
My latest search was for what I call a tennis shoe, but technically probably isn’t. It looks like one, but no laces. It simply slips on and off. I’m not interested in tying and untying laces every time I want to put on, or take off my shoes. You may call it lazy. I call it efficient. I have a high arch, so good arch support is a must, but it’s the soles that get my primary attention. You heard me. I don’t care how cute they are. If the soles look like they might slip on a wet sidewalk, floor, or driveway they are not in the running for my consideration.
Several years ago I slipped on a wet hardwood floor. One foot firmly fixed to the area rug while the other stepped innocently into an invisible puddle of water on the wood. I was going down and there was nothing I could do. The problem was the foot on the rug. It was anchored like an NFL linebacker refusing to give up ground. All the while my left foot was sliding like water over Niagara Falls. There was no stopping it. The result of such a sudden and violent fall was a ruptured hamstring. That rates a 10+ on the 10 pain scale. The longterm effect is a permanent divot in the back of my leg where my hamstring used to be, and an everlasting fear of falling.
I read the reviews, throwing out the high and the low. Someone is always going to find something to complain about. They live for it and I’m not interested. Then there are those that gush about their purchase. Are the shoes really that amazing, or are they just trying to justify spending $70 on a pair of tennis shoes? I know….some of you think that is cheap, but since nobody is paying me to play tennis in them, I think that’s high for a non-professional. I’m looking for key words and I find them.
“Good arch support”. We have a possibility. “Slip when wet”. Nope! Moving on. But my all time favorite is, “They survived Disney!” That’s the gold standard! I can’t tell you how many reviews I’ve read about different shoes that mention how they wore them all day at Disney and their feet didn’t hurt. That’s fantastic, but they are, at the very least, stretching the truth like a rubber band!!! I don’t care what you wear at Disney, by the end of the day your feet hurt! Okay, they don’t just hurt, they are killing you, and you’re pretty sure you’ll never walk again!!! There is no amount of padding, cushion, or arch support that can defeat Disney. I once saw a woman there wearing stilettos! Lord have mercy! What was she thinking?!
Have you watched people at the Disney parks walk? They enter the park all smiles, eager, and bouncing like Tigger. By the end of the day they resemble Eeyore. Their jaunty gait has turned into a shuffle, barely lifting their feet off the ground. They left those happy smiles somewhere on Small World. Their feet feeling like the “world” they just walked wasn’t all that “small”! The only thing they are eagerly looking for is the exit! Show me shoes that can really stand up to Disney and I’ll pay over my $70 threshold for them. They’d be worth every dime. Meanwhile, I’m back to looking at those non-slip soles. My gold standard.