A Closet Full of Shoes

How did I not know that Shel Silverstein has a poem called "A Closet Full of Shoes?"  It must have been in the book I didn't have, but I found it today while wandering around looking at other stuff and now I share it with you:

Party shoes with frills and bows,
Workin’ shoes with steel toes,
Sneakers, flip-flops. And galoshes,
Brogans, oxfords, satin pumps,
Dancin’ taps and wooden clumps,
Shoes for climbin’ shoes for hikes,
Football cleats and baseball spikes,
Shoes of shiny patent leather,
Woolly shoes for winter weather,
Loafers, rough-outs, sandals, spats,
High heels, low heels, platforms, flats,
Moccasins and fins and flippers,
Shower clogs ballet slippers…
A zillion shoes and just one missin’--
That’s the one that matches this’n. 

It might not be my favorite of his, but I still love it, and it's about shoes, so of course I need to know it!  Now in honor of one of my favorite authors, I give you the poem visually (and with commentary):

Party shoes with frills and bows.  These are VERY froofy!  I think Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious would approve.

Workin’ shoes with steel toes.  These might be the cutest steel toed shoes I've ever seen.

Sneakers, flip-flops. And galoshes.  Turquoise!

Brogans, oxfords, satin pumps.  I've heard the word brogan before, but never really thought about it or looked to see what kind of shoe it was.  So now I've learned something new!

Dancin’ taps and wooden clumps.  I don't actually know what wooden clumps are, but I figure wooden clogs make a clumping sound when you walk.

Shoes for climbin’ shoes for hikes.  I'm terrified of heights, but the green is pretty.  You know, for climbing walls not higher than 5 feet or so.  Love the hiking boots. 

Football cleats and baseball spikes. I like the colors.  That's about all I've got on these.

Shoes of shiny patent leather.  You know I love these.

Woolly shoes for winter weather.  So snuggly looking.

Loafers, rough-outs, sandals, spats.  Again, not sure what rough-outs are, but I thought worn-in cowboy boots seemed appropriate.  Also, I think spats are cool.  Weird, but cool.

High heels, low heels, platforms, flats.  I would wear all of these.  Of course, I'd only wear the platforms if I was really drunk and bowling, but hey, they're bright!

Moccasins and fins and flippers.  3 things I really never wear and don't have much desire for, despite the pretty colors.

Shower clogs ballet slippers.  Who wears clogs in the shower?  These were the closest I could find because trust me, you do NOT want to google the phrase "shower clogs," especially if you're like me and the sight of hair in the drain makes you gag...

I probably spent way more time on this post than I should have, but oh well, I need some entertainment in my day.  Especially today as I've felt yucky all day.  Just weird tummy issues, but I'd really rather be home in bed than at my desk.  Thankfully I have Shel Silverstein and shoes to help be through the yuck.

Memory Lane: 2013. 2014.

Ode to My Mama

Today is my mom's birthday.  Hi, mom!  In honor of this very special day, here are shoes from some of the different years of her life.  (Side note:  Please note that none of these shoes are hers and my  mother would probably never wear any of them, so don't hold any of them against her!)

 

Mom was born in 1947.

 

 

Then she was a  kid and did stuff (I don't know...I wasn't there...).  I hope it involved saddle shoes at some point.

 

 

In 1965 she graduated from High School.

 



 

 

She went to college, met my dad, and they got married in 1967.  It was the Summer of Love.  Except that my parents got married in November, so I guess it was the Fall of Love.  I couldn't find any wedding shoes from that year for some reason, but Mom's were exactly like mine except not blue, or peep toe, or with an ankle strap.  Or a shoe clip.  So you can picture them, I'm sure.

 

 

 

 

My seester was born in September of 1969.  These shoes are both awful and adorable.  They're awforable...

 

 

My brother was born in 1971.  I think most people had to be high to survive the 70s...

 

 

Her favorite child was born in 1975!

 

 

In 1984 Mom started working at the school in my hometown (yes, there was only 1.  Well, 2, but I went K-12 in the same building)

 









 

 

Somewhere around 1990 Mom began doing daycare.  She counted recently and has taken care of almost 30 children since then.  Because she's awesome.  She definitely did not wear these shoes while running after small children.

 

In 2001 she and my dad and my brother bought the movie theater in my home town.  How cool is that?

 





 

Obviously this is only a teeny tiny itty bitty portion of my mother's life.  There is so much more.  But since we're already at 11 pictures for 1 post, I'm thinking that's enough for now.  I like the linking of shoes with different years, though, so be prepared for more like this.  Happy Birthday, Mom!  Love you to the moon and back!



 

Funerals and Clogs

 

I did a funeral this morning, with a graveside, so sensible shoes were in order (heels just sink into the grass at the cemetery, and it's completely awkward when the pastor falls on her face).  I've had these shoes for almost 6 years now.  I bough them when I was in Berkeley for my graduation from seminary.  They are cute and comfortable and my favorite color.  What more do I need?  This picture also cracks me up because the hubby is always giving me a hard time about being pigeon-toed.  I didn't realize when I took the picture that my toes were pointing out.

 

Maybe I should have posted that first picture second so it could have acted as a palate cleanser for this:

 

 

Dang those are bright.  They are plastic and rubber molded clogs from the 70s, but at first glance this morning they looked like Crocs on crack.  Which is actually fun to say.  Try it a couple of times...

 

So funerals and clogs and Crocs.  Not things you generally think of in the same sentence.  ALTHOUGH, there was a guy at the funeral who caught my attention.  He had a long, gray mullet, was wearing a black shirt with flames on it, never once took his sunglasses off, even in the chapel, wore a bunch of rings and bracelets.  I was expecting something like biker boots on his feet, but turned out he was wearing clogs.  I may have giggled a little bit.  If only they had been these clogs, my day would have been complete!