I finally discovered why everybody loves flip-flops so darn much, and it's definitely not the reasons I've thought all my life. You see, I suffered under the misapprehension that flip-flops were there to cool your feet, to provide a quick & easy way to attire yourself in a bare minimum of footware, and to, frankly, look cool.
Alas, I was wrong.
I discovered this today while running to my local Smith's store to buy lasagna and creamsicles (the lasagna for me, the creamsicles for my mom). I walked into the store, enjoying the rather new sensation of that flapping noise that inevitably accompanies flip-flop wearing. (You see, I only purchased said flip-flops on Saturday, so I'm still breaking them in. Hm. If you break in flip-flops...)
Anyway--so I was walking along, and I realized that, even if a monstrous great ant the size of a clydesdale had burst into the store at that very moment, I would have been unable to run away from it. I would have been forced, by my new-fangled flip-flops, to stroll along at a leisurely pace towards the frozen food section (necessarily screaming and waving my arms frantically the entire time) where I would grab a frozen turkey and knock the dang thing out cold.
And then, I realized that I LOVED flip-flops! I mean, even when your life is threatened by giant ants, or by frozen turkeys for that matter, you're literally forced to take the time to smell the roses. (Specifically those little dinky rose bouquets that Smith's sells for $12.99 each.)
Fortunately, since our lives are rarely threatened by such unlikely manifestations of the powers of evil, (and really, what can be more evil than a giant ant? Or a frozen turkey?), we can actually enjoy the sensation of having to slow down a little bit. Wearing flip-flops is summery not just because you HAVE to wear them or your feet will spontaneously combust from the heat of socks & sneakers in the summer sun, but because they make you take life easy, stroll instead of dash across the beach, saunter rather than sprint around the park. It's kind of nice to take things easy once in awhile, kind of nice to live in a summery style.
(But I'm keeping my sneakers around just in case that giant ant shows up. Seriously. I HATE those things.)
2 comments:
So THAT'S what I was supposed to learn when I ran in sandals to catch a train and wound up sprawled all over the pavement, scattering my purse, my lunch, John Adams' biography, and the aforementioned sandals in every possible direction. You're not SUPPOSED to run in the things. All has suddenly become clear. Thanks Beth.
Btw, if you're really concerned about the giant ant thing, you might consider moving back to California. Never seen one here. Maybe your local infestation is related to the Uranium mining in southern Utah.
Everytime I wear uncomfortable shoes to work (figuring...what the heck...I sit at a desk most of the day) while I'm walking up to this huge office building, I get a little nervous. I remember all those women in Manhattan running barefoot away from the collapsing towers because they couldn't run in heels and the cool guy that owned a shoe store that gave all his shoes away for free to women running by. It doesn't stop me from wearing flip flops though. I wear uncomfortable shoes as an "IN YOUR FACE" to terrorists. FLIP FLOP THIS! Of course, they don't care...but it makes me feel good!
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