Nike shoes

They're ugly.

Apologies if you bought a pair, or if they're your brand, but if so, then you bought ugly shoes.

I'm in a shoe-scoping phase.

I bought four pair of shoes this summer and wear only one of the pair.  The ugliest of them all and I feel ridiculous wearing them. I hate everything. But I never even considered Nike. On sight, there is nothing to recommend them next to the million other brands. Try it on Zappos and see. They're just blah compared with everything else.

They are like so last century.

I stood outside and waited for Amazon and gazed upon everyone's shoes as they passed by, judging each shoe-wearer harshly. I didn't see one single pair that I'd buy happily. Although a couple of them were okay.

Why everyone has gravitated toward these cheap-ass sneakers with rubber soles befuddles and aggravates me completely. Although I admit occasionally someone does pull it off.

And then I went to Whole Foods on Washington at I-25 last week, a small place, and there I saw men who comprehend the importance of good shoes. The only place I saw it. Everywhere else is full on no-class fabric athletic shoes. For the first time, the whole day. They were all concentrated at Whole Foods, as if solid choice in food matches solid choice in shoes. They looked so completely together, so mentally stable, properly matured in their smart leather shoes, not even pretending to be any kind of everyday athlete of any sort, track runner, ball player, what have you.

And the first good pair I saw matched a pair that I own. It was like a ray of sunlight striking the earth as spotlight upon well-chosen shoes. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, all three pair match pairs that I own. But his match my all-time favorite.

That presently I cannot wear.

And I thought wow, those look really good on you. You win the shoe-contest for today that nobody knows they're in.

My impulse was congratulate him. I wanted to ask him, "are those buffalo?" A young man. At least half my age. He would have appreciated that. And then he would think to himself privately as I walk away, "weirdo" for my strange other-worldly Ally-Oop profile extra wide shoes that make me look like I have no discretion whatsoever.

Chosen because of this:

That's the shape of my foot. The toes don't come to a point like a dagger.

They're okay. I guess. For now. For my emergency situation. I'm not recommending anything.

Except this guy's shoes are a lot more narrow. Like two leather torpedoes. And long pant normal jeans. Not narrow jeans as pictured and not rolled up.  None of that stupid stone-wash to bald patches crap. Still, I thought, okay, now that's hot. It forms a good impression immediately. Plain, simple correctness. If I were to speak with him, then I'm assured he would speak sensibly. The other guy wore somewhat dorky penny-loafers, no socks and short pants, like poorly put together good taste without actual style, as if he doesn't even own any athletic shoes, and just hopped in his car to go grocery shopping, and a third guy wore dress shoes wingtips with no socks and short pants, a mismatch situation that's faintly ridiculous but still looked more solid than any athletic cloth or man-made materials shoes.

Screw Nike. Their slave-labor business is way too competitive to engage in bizarre social justice antics. 

While burning the Nike shoes that you own to make a point doesn't do anything either. Empty signaling. The shoes are already purchased, burning them now doesn't affect Nike. Your future shoe-choices do.  Burning five pair of perfectly good shoes that you've chosen for some reason, is ridiculous. It just shows that you're willing to waste. 

Know what's a bit weird? I actually like Kaepernick. I don't know why. I haven't heard him orating, maybe that would change my mind. He hasn't annoyed me. The disruption he brings is the only thing that I know about him. The damage he wrought on the NFL and the damage he inflicts on Nike by simply being Kaepernick is fine with me. I never cared much for both of those things. And the national discussion he's provoked is important to have. For other people to have. Not me.