Random Number.org has spoken, and the winners of a pair of Naturalizer shoes or boots are:
Patricia Cofer and Loretta of Pomegranates and Paper! I will email you both, and confirm your details for shipment. Enjoy!
But my friends, can we applaud all the comments for a minute? The foot pain stories! Go and read them, if you want to ponder the mysteries of style, resourcefulness, and being female. Or just feel like smiling, knowingly. Here are two among so many stellar examples.
1. From Julia Sugden
“I took my son to an open day at a potential university in Manchester (UK) a city notorious for rain. Well prepared in my Mackintosh, (don’t you just love a real Mackintosh) with polka dot umbrella and comfortable black loafers, I accompanied my son across campus for a couple of hours in torrential rain. My feet were soaked through. When finally we finished I decided to treat myself to a new pair of shoes as we had a long journey home ahead of us and wet feet just didn’t cut it. Spying a beautiful pair of flats (I’m a sturdy girl through and through) in the window of a swish shop, we went in to try them on. I casually flicked off my loafers and saw a look of horror sweep across the rather haughty assistant’s face. I looked down and my feet were black, coal miner black, man of the road black, black like I’d bathed them in soot. The dye from my shoes had permanently tattooed my feet. I tried valiantly and failed miserably to laugh it off – no casual insouciance from me. Uncomfortable? I’d have given my right arm, left leg and both feet to have stumped out with a shred of dignity. Needless to say my son was hysterical – I had never seen him laugh so much. It took me almost a week of regular scrubbing to get my feet back to grey and a further week to glory in their ghostly whiteness.”
2. From Lisa W., a poem
The day is hot.
The parking lot
a mile from where I have to go.
I’m late! My case is heard at one.
I must trot there in the sun.
My shoes – those heels with scarlet soles –
Cramp toes, pinch skin. My tights have holes!
I hobble, wincing, to the door –
It’s locked – I have to trot some more!
The hearing passes in a cloud
of pain so bad I groan aloud
each time I stand to face the judge.
And still to car I have to trudge!
When I got home that awful day,
Those shoes were, pronto, thrown away.
There are more where those came from. Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone for participating.
12 Responses
It is fitting a rhyming poem becomes a prize winner in a contest held by a blog enjoyed by a population of a certain age. All through the 50s to the 70s in tony Palm Beach and other East Coast societies, it was de rigeur for invites to be extended with a poem, for personalized Christmas cards: printed with a humorous, cheerfully amatuerish illustrations or cartoons, then each folded card] colored-in or glasses to be raised for toasts given by hosts pulling such ditties out of the pockets of navy blazers fashioned of tropical weight wool. Such charming works have, of course, been morphed by the future generations, beginning in the late 80s, into impromptu rap tributes performed at society weddings by kid brothers backed up by mischievous cousins and aided by the perplexed orchestra leader who gave up the stage, sound system & drum kit to these loose cannons for performances of odes to the Bride & Groom and their amused guests. (Although, heavens knows, I saw enough of these acts to also notice the Parents of the Bridal Couple nervously tapping a foot or the Mothers wringing a lace-trimmed handkerchief as they waited for a curse word to be dropped like a bomb on their unsuspecting well-dressed guests.) If that occurred, the grinning boys who had donned black sunglasses for effect and who’d gained liquid courage in alcohol might be hustled off the orchestra’s risers into obscurity and certain punishment inside the main house to be dealt with later or corralled into another area where the teens laughed uproariously over their triumph for the rest of the evening. I recently saw published at the 100-yr. anniversary of our Palm Beach town newspaper photos of such invited and Yule greetings from these Eras as examples of this comic, pleasant trend. Congratulations go out to both winners but a tip of the hat goes to the poetess who wrote the winning entry.
@PBChic,
Although my poem did not “win” the giveaway (I believe the winners were chosen randomly), I took so much pleasure from seeing Lisa single it out, and from your incredibly kind and nostalgic comment, that I have been rewarded indeed. Thank you!
Lisa – I had to make sure everyone got to enjoy it as I did.
@PBChic, My hare-brained, though well-intentioned mistake. I haven’t been hitting on all 8 for a few yrs. now since I was oxygen-deprived during a period my stoma was covers my chin before I had it lifted w/ vertebrae replacements 3 yrs. ago. and a surgery in which I regurgitated into my lungs being moved from the OR table to the gurney and a pulmonogist had to be called in to vacuum my lungs out for the next 5 hrs. The good news is I play brain games through an App developed by neuroscientists called “LUMOSITY” which helps sharpen my math skills, short-term memory, long-term memory and tracks my progress. That is, when I remember to do it. Cade in point: I mislaid my favorite enamel HERMÈS Bracelet (it has hot air balloons on it–my all-time favorite activity which I’ve done twice) for a few anxious wks. Then after doing the games for 20 mins., I was sitting in front of my dresser & “saw” in my mind’s eye the orange box at the rear of the top middle drawer. Voilà! I wept tears of joy! I immediately called my husband & Mom to share the great news and how I’m sure working the games and the act of image-streaming contributed to helping me remember where it was.
Wow! Thank you, Lisa and Naturalizer. I have never won a blog giveaway before! Cool!
Sending hearty congratulations to the winners, and a thank you to all the essayists for providing such painful reading, such varied-yet-universal stories. And LPC, you are such a gem to make these prizes available to your readers. Cheers all around!
I too was ridiculously, childishly thrilled to see Lisa single out my little anecdote as I so respect her writing and enjoy reading her beautifully crafted missives. Thank you so much for brightening my day!
It was so vivid. And your son laughing:).
I should think of some way to feature my commenters more often. You guys are such great communicators.
Wow! As my favorite college professor always said, “the best things in life are not free, they’re unexpected.” In this case, winning the shoes is both free and unexpected. Thank you so much, Lisa. I’ll happily wear them in your honor!
I so enjoyed the poem and unapologetic rhyme…too long out of fashion- but oh, the wheel turns :)
@Kathy,
Thank you! I so enjoyed writing it!
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