Lost: One Shoe

Oh, people of Providence, you never cease to amaze me.
I had stepped out briefly at lunch time so I knew that it was a gorgeous spring day outside and I knew that I didn't need my fleece to walk to my car at the end of the day. After the day I had, I also knew that I couldn't get out of that building fast enough.
What I did not know, however, was that there would be a sighting so interesting that it would beg for a blog entry. Here goes...
While walking through the fine city of Providence just a bit before five o'clock this evening, I saw a man limping across the street. I couldn't figure out whether the man was hurt or not so I looked down at his feet...maybe he was wearing an aircast or a boot or something that would explain the awkward hobble.
Not only was there no aircast or boot but the man was missing a shoe. He was walking funny because he had lost a shoe and the gravel from the road was hurting the bottom of his foot.
I'm not quite sure how one loses a shoe. Not both shoes...just one.
Hell, I wouldn't have thought twice about a man walking through the city on a gorgeous spring day completely barefoot but to just lose one shoe? This didn't make any sense to me. He wasn't carrying the missing shoe and he didn't look like a man who would just leave home with one shoe on.
This struck me as very odd. What the heck happened to this guy during the course of the day? Was he mugged for his left sneaker? Perhaps he got into a run-in with a vicious dog and he threw the shoe to distract the dog so he could get away safely.
I'm not saying I've never walked around a city barefoot. I remember a lengthy barefoot walk through Boston several years ago. There is a logical explanation for that though. 1. I had both shoes in my hand; 2. It had been a long night of dancing; and 3. The wet grass felt great on my sore soles.
Anyway, part of me wishes I had asked him what happened and the sane part of me is happy that it put a smile on my face at the end of a grueling day.

Selfies

While I was at the gym tonight, I witnessed something that I hope to never see again. A group of young, adolescent girls were on the elliptical machines talking, laughing & "working out". When that got too boring for them, one of the girls whipped out her cell phone and began taking pictures of herself and her friends "working out". I say "working out" in quotes because I don't think any of them produced one bead of sweat. This was, clearly, all for show.
This got me thinking about people who take pictures of themselves...not themselves in a group of friends, but pictures of themselves - alone. I don't know what's worse - the selfie photo in the bathroom mirror or the selfie photo in the driver's seat of the car.
Do these people not have friends that can take a picture of them doing something other than making the infamous duck face? You know the one I'm talking about.
I am sorry if I'm offending any of my friends but, c'mon! If we're friends, I'll gladly be in a picture with you...or, at least, take one of you for your Match.com profile. That's what friends do.

Winter Casualty

Damn you, winter!
During the most recent snow & ice storm, the Grey Lady (also lovingly referred to as Betty White) sustained some damage. (Here comes my storytelling skills because I don't actually know what happened. I think this story is the least pessimistic of all of the possible stories.)
I am a careless snow remover, especially when it comes to cleaning off my vehicle. I can shovel a mean pathway and shovel myself out of a parking spot so it really just boils down to the fact that I'm lazy...and I don't leave myself enough time in the morning.
I've been known to clean off the windows and brush off my headlights/taillights but if more work is required it's probably not going to happen. That's a lie. I do clean off around the driver's door so I don't end up sitting in a pile of snow once inside.
I figure it's a waste of time to clean off the entire car when the snow will just blow off while I drive. Yes, I know it's very dangerous to do this. Other drivers must think I'm a menace to society and that my license should be revoked. They're probably right.
(Sidenote: I also don't wait long enough for the defroster to clear the whole windshield. While the defroster is on the maximum setting, I seek out that one clear spot in the windshield and contort my body over the console so I can see the road.)
Well, good news, society. I've learned my lesson.
During the last storm, I knowingly neglected to clean off the roof of the car. Well, once that snow & ice starts to melt, it starts to shift and - poof - there goes my rooftop radio antennae.
I now have approximately five radio stations that come in clearly. Everything else is just a static-y mess.
The last time I was at the dealership getting service done I asked how much it would cost to repair the damage. I saw an extra digit more than I was expecting so, needless to say, I've been listening to more CDs lately.
Thank you to anyone who has made me a CD in the past, say, ten years. I've had them on a rotation for the past few weeks.
My other theory is that some trollop vandalized my car while in the parking garage. I can't find a lesson in that story though.