Nina Lewis

Archive for September, 2009

The other day I went shoe shopping.  Now, for those that know me ought to know I do NOT like shoes.  I do not like shoe shopping.  It’s an aggravating, necessary evil.  (If I could have my druthers, I would live in Tahiti and go barefoot all the time.)  However, I succumbed to the shoe shopping maelstrom because I needed some black casual shoes to wear to work.

After shopping, and shopping, and shopping, I came across some very stylish black shoes that I liked.  Tried them on.  They felt comfortable.  Decided to buy them.  Then I was presented with a dilemma.  Buy one pair, get the second pair half off.  Did I need two pairs of shoes?  No.  Did I want to buy two pair of shoes? No.  But then . . .

But then I saw these red shoes.  “Buy me!  Buy me!” they cried out. Who can resist the tears of darling red shoes? I asked myself.  The sack I carried home contained a black pair and a red pair of shoes.

Today I wore my fun red shoes to work.  I walked from the bus stop up to my office.  I walked back down to campus and around to meet with different folks. In buildings.  Out of buildings.  On to the next building.  I walked back up the hill to my my office.  At the end of work, I walked back down to the bus stop.  I walked from the bus stop to the car.  I figured I walked over 3 miles in these spunky red shoes.

AND MY FEET HURT!!!

These shoes aren’t made for walking!!!

So, the problem with fashionable shoes is that what looks cute, and feels okay in the store, doesn’t necessarily equate with comfort.  At least on my feet.   I may look absolutely divine in my zippy red shoes but they sure hurt my feet.

My question now is: should I return the black shoes and get my money back because I anticipate that they will hurt, too, since they are the same size and of similar style?  Or should I wear them and see how they feel?  (I cannot return worn shoes to the store . . . and I don’t want shoes in my closet that are painful to wear.)

Dear Readers, what do you think???  (Only those who are both fashion conscious and into comfort need reply.)

I recently finished Hot, Flat, and Crowded by Thomas Friedman.  What a thought provoking book.  I dare say that Friedman would want us to take it one step further and view his book as an action provoking book.

While reading it, I was on a roller-coaster ride of emotions.  One minute I was flying high on top of the world feeling smug for all of the energy efficient things my husband and I were doing (e.g. buying energy efficient appliances, taking the bus to work instead of driving, using the curlicued light bulbs, having a solar panel to heat water, and having a solar envelope home to name a few).

In the next instant of reading, I plummeted to the depths of despair as I realized the magnitude of the problem.

Then, my can-do attitude kicked in. I decided my husband and I could step up our energy efficient activities.  From here on out, we’ll be taking baths only once a month and washing our clothes only once a month so we won’t need so much natural gas for hot water.  I’ll fix the ‘Sunday dinner special’ (a dried crust of bread and a glass of tepid water) several times a week instead of just on Sundays so I won’t have to use my gas oven.  I’ll do dishes, mop the floor, vacuum, dust, make the bed, and clean the bathroom only once a month.  (Hey!  That’s preserving MY energy.  That ought to be worth something shouldn’t it???)

All joking aside, on one hand I think that everybody needs to feel ownership in the energy problem facing our world.  We all need to permanently modify our usage of energy.  Then, we need to demand that our country develop energy solutions so that we aren’t dependent on oil from countries whose goal is jihad against our country.

I also believe it will take more than just you and me, more than the common, ordinary citizenry to improve things.  It will take the president of the United States to step up, to provide a vision of where our country needs to go in this energy maelstrom, and to have strong leadership to take us down the right path.  The process will be painful at times and we mustn’t have the ‘we’ll-get-to-it-later’ attitude.

President Obama has been lauded as being the first Black president of the United States, the first Black US president to address Congress, the first Black president of the United States to visit Russia, the first Black US president to fix a peanut butter sandwich in the kitchen in the presidential quarters of the White House.  While all of this is commendable, I think the most important color that our president needs to be is GREEN!

More about 9/11.  This clip gets right to the heart of things.  Makes a person stop and consider what is important in life.