Wednesday, September 22, 2010

A Tale of Two Shoes

I am going to tell you two (apparently) separate stories but I promise they will link up at the end. Ready?

Ok, here goes:

Five years ago I was given a pair of gently used black high heeled shoes by my sister. I loved those shoes. They were comfortable and I could wear them all day or night without a single complaint. They were the only dressy pair of shoes I owned and I could wear them with a dress or jeans and they went perfectly. After about 3 years they began to show some wear and tear. I tried desperately to find a replacement pair to no avail. Every time I traveled back to the States I searched for a pair of dressy heels but could never find the right one. I stuck with my old faithfuls. Last year, they were so bad that my good friend, Debbie sent them to a shoe hospital. They did their best but it was looking more and more like my shoes had breathed their last.

This year, I visited Payless because I really needed new shoes for my speaking engagements. Miracle of miracles! I found not one, but three pairs of beautiful shoes! One super comfortable wedge open toe pump in navy blue, one pair of heels I would never have chosen on my own without the encouragement of my son and friend (see photo below) and one pair of sandal heels for more dressy occasions (I've never worn them yet--if that's any indication of the life I lead). I was so excited and wore those first two pairs every day the entire time I was in the States and the first pair a few time every week since I've been back here in Zambia. They are both comfortable shoes and have been wonderful.

Showing a promo video and speaking at a church in Texas

 A close up of the heels I never would have chosen for myself but ended up loving!
Now for the second story:

Buzz Has To Die!*

 A couple years ago our very sweet and loving dog, Licky died and we had to replace her. A couple months later we got a cute, large dog named Harley. One of Licky's puppies, Spock, was her buddy for a whole year. Then he was put down. Harley was lonely. Then we found a new puppy. 


Friends of ours promised that the puppy was nearly full pure bred something or other. I forget now. I'm not a dog person....can you tell? Anyway, sadly, this new puppy was more mutt than pure and while kinda sweet is a bit of a rascal. He is a bit obnoxious and not easily trained. I'm not really a fan. It's possible that he picked up on this because sometimes I feel like he has it in for me. More about this later.....

Then he hit puppy puberty. Heaven help us! Buzz's slightly undisciplined antics turned into full-blown naughtiness. He began to chew on everything in sight. He had done this a bit as a tiny puppy but this was really bad. Clothes left on the clothesline were in tatters in the morning, pieces of plastic blown into our yard became confetti. Even the plastic pot for our little tree on the porch suffered the wrath of Buzz's teeth.

We did our best to remove everything from the yard before closing things down for the night and to keep things up and away from his puppy jaws. 


Do you kinda see where this is going?

A couple weeks ago we came home late from our shopping trip to Mansa. I kicked up my wedge heels in a corner of the dining room and set about making dinner. We had friends coming over and I didn't give a second thought to my shoes. Not until the next morning that is when Jasmine brought them to me. Yes, folks, Buzz had gotten ahold of them and they were history! Not a chance of lifesaving measures. 


I may have shed a tear or two. I may have yelled (a lot!). It is nearly impossible to find shoes here and I went 5 years without finding shoes I liked even in the States. I shudder to think how much longer it will be before I find a pair I love again. Pray for me!

*This title is adapted from a Dixie Chicks song. You gotta love how Country songs can take an awkward or terrible situation and make it humorous in song.

17 comments:

  1. As soon as I read "puppy" I knew it was going to be bad. :-) He looks like he might be a yellow-lab mix, and they are notorious chewers. Ours is 4 years old, and while he doesn't chew everything in sight any more, he'll still eat anything and everything. I've taken metal screws and other crazy things out of his mouth. We have to be real careful about little things that drop to the floor. But he's good company, and I love the goofy guy. Sympathies about your shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pam from NebraskaSeptember 18, 2010

    I've ordered shoes from payless.com. Maybe you can find the same shoes and somehow get them shipped to Africa!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Puppy + shoes = sad

    If I see any like those at my local Payless, I'll let you know.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am sorry that I laughed at part two of your tale. That puppy certainly can wreak havoc in a hurry. It almost seems like his chewing is more than just normal! Maybe he needs dog therapy.

    -Check out the link for info on my blogaversary
    giveaway:
    http://rnsane.blogspot.com/2010/09/flash-55-friday-happy-anniversary-to-me.html#links

    ReplyDelete
  5. Oh, no! I hate losing a good pair of shoes!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, so sorry, Amy.... I felt like crying for you. I think this made me feel sad for you more than any of your other stories.

    Just to give you a little hope about the puppy, Lady was a chewer too. I worried about the furniture in the house all the time, she loved our shoes too. (although none of them ended up quite as bad as yours). Anyway, she grew out of it.. I don't know if you can get chew toys there with the squeek, but it sure helps them thru this period. (Lady still loves her squeek toys).

    I hope you can get another good pair without so much trouble next time you're here.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love your blog. I am passing on this award to you as a recognition for your talent in writing about what ever you chose to share with the world.http://onebusymoma.blogspot.com/2010/09/we-received-award.html

    ReplyDelete
  8. first of all, I LOVE those black shoes that you never would have picked! I may have to run to Payless to see if they still have some! Second of all, I am so sorry for the loss of the second pair! How come the dogs never chew on the shoes we don't wear?? I loathe the dog adolescent stage! Having 3 dogs of my own, I can say that I am surprised I have never killed a dog! Right now, my oldest boy is farting so bad that it smells like I may need to plan a funeral so I must leave this computer! Good luck to you!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh no!! I've had a shoe-eating dog before, so I understand your pain. Ugh!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh no!! I loved those shoes! Shoot.

    ReplyDelete
  11. :'( <--- Tear drop for you. Sorry about your shoes. It's such a shame that this is not your first pair of shoes that has come to a tragic end. We'll pick out some new ones in January. <3

    ReplyDelete
  12. The heels you never would have chosen for yourself are fantastic, I'm so glad you were encouraged to get them. So sorry about your destroyed pair. I hate violence against shoes.

    Thank you so much for being such a wonderful supportive bloggy friend.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Will Payless mail you another pair? Worth checking. I can never be upset with my dogs for long ... they look at me with those big, innocent looking eyes and their ears cocked and I melt all over again!
    I'm here from Blog Frog. Hope you'll check me out at www.karynclimans.com.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Oh my goodness! I know what it's like to lose a favorite pair of shoes. Thanks for visiting my blog during my SITS Day!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oh no! I'm very lucky that neither of our dogs has an interest in shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I should probably add to my last comment that, while they don't chew things up, they do have an irritating habit of peeing on the carpet.

    ReplyDelete

Come hang out with me. Your comments brighten my day and make me feel less lonely in my corner of the globe. .Wanna know more about my crazy life? Give a shout!

You can also email me at amymorrowinafricaATgmailDOTcom

Related Posts with Thumbnails

ShareThis