Finding Shoes

When I look for shoes, I give a cursory glance at the display racks on the off chance I might find something better than what I had in mind. If nothing is apparent, I go ahead with the style I've chosen, a little hesitation at the way it looks, then ok. I pay for them and go home.

Notice I did not even try it on. If it's of equal size, I could find that out by facing the shoes bottom side together checking their length. If I wanted to find out wether they were comfortable or not, I'd just press my fingers onto the insides of the shoe.

My wife is astounded, of course. What takes her the better part of a day took me less than 10 minutes.

Shopping for shoes can be difficult though, especially for people with regular sized feet. While people with large or small feet have more available to them, those in the general population find themselves weeping when told that the pair they wanted was out of stock.

When you do shop for shoes and see a pair you want, you ask for a similar style but in a different size. This is where most of the problem begins. How could they so heartlessly dangle something in  front of you when they can't give it to you because there are none for you anymore?

Going shopping with my wife is an education for me. And my feet. I always say to myself "never again", but never never happens.

My wife likes to look at and try on shoes whenever she takes a fancy to one pair. So we go arrrrrrrrrrrroooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnddddddddd the store where she frequently sssssssstttttttttooooooooppppppsssssss and asks for a pair of this or that in her size. This is where I become useful.

If the pair happens to be out of stock, I get to see the expression on my wife's face fall. I get to be solicitous and comforting telling her never to mind and that they can surely be found in another store. Afterwards I tell myself maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that other store bit.

I can't quite grasp the concept of "right style, right size". To me, a shoe is shoe and it works for me. I suppose that the satisfaction of finding the right pair and size affects a woman differently.  My wife just turns into a cute, loveable bubbly airhead when this happens.

Shopping malls, please take note. Do all of us married men a favor. Make sure you've got complete stocks in your warehouse.