Shoes.

The shoes on the soles of my feet have seen me through a lot. They took me on long summer walks, pedaled my bike up the hill to school every day, trekked through the snow and rain of fall and winter, and took me on a train trip across the US. They have traveled with me to every city and state since I left Utah.

My shoes have soul. Sadly, they don't have much for sole anymore.

Tonight I was thinking of what I will do when I finally break through the soles of my shoes... and wondered what it is that caused such serious wear and tear at the balls of my feet. Besides normal use, I think the spring in my step, the never-ending dance my body does, has aggravated the decline in one of my most personal belongings I currently have with me. So many nights of twist and shout, a bit of charleston, and a whole lotta interpretive & modern dance have shaped these shoes to my feet. I can't imagine parting with them.

I think I'll hop on in to a shoe shop (if I can find one)... and see what the possibilities are for repair. Otherwise, I'm going to need to new pair of shoes before I come home to the winter sludge of Northern Utah. Sigh.

*Here's to hoping they last that long. And here is one of my favorite songs by The Be Good Tanyas dedicated to my shoes and my life. It's so fitting.

Littlest Birds
(© Parton/Holland/Barrett)

Well I feel like an old hobo,
I'm sad lonesome and blue
I was fair as a summers day
Now the summer days are through
You pass through places
And places pass through you
But you carry 'em with you
On the souls of your travellin' shoes

Well I love you so dearly I love you so clearly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And i'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways one of
these days soon
And I'll sing

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

Well it's times like these
I feel so small and wild
Like the ramblin' footsteps of a wanderin' child
And I'm lonesome as a lonesome whippoorwill
Singin these blues with a warble and a trill
But I'm not too blue to fly
No I'm not too blue to fly cause

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs...

Well I love you so dearly
I love you so fearlessly
Wake you up in the mornin' so early
Just to tell you I got the wanderin' blues
I got the wanderin' blues
And I don't wanna leave you
I love you through and through

Oh I left my baby on a pretty blue train
And I sang my songs to the cold and the rain
I had the wanderin' blues
And I sang those wanderin' blues
And I'm gonna quit these ramblin' ways
One of these days soon
And I'll sing...

The littlest birds sing the prettiest songs....

**I don't care if the sun don't shine
I don't care if nothin' is mine
I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my lovin' in the wintertime
** Syd Barrett