Thursday 10 May 2007

Pic of the day: Old shoes (bottom), new shoes (top), more new shoes (in the bag).

New shoes

Or rather, more of the old. It is now two years since I bought the jogging shoes at Löplabbet (the Running Lab) in Kristiansand, and the may well have been the best shoes I've had in my life, certainly in my adult life. Although I don't do much jogging, I walk a lot, and they are quite good on the hard road where I stay most of the time. But time wears down all things, and not least shoes.

I have tried once before to go back to the shop and get a new pair, but the young man who worked there during my lunch break did not think they had shoes like that. He didn't seem overly interested in finding out, either. The shop is a bit away from where I usually go, so I hadn't gone back until today. For other reasons, my lunch was somewhat delayed, so it was outside the usual lunch hours when I went out in the city. I tried Löplabbet again, and this time met The Lady That Knows, the one who sold me the shoes last time. I wore the worn-out pair and told her that I was looking for a replacement. It is safe to say that she would see the reason for that, since they are so worn there are holes on the toes. She recognized the type on sight and I only had to give my size (46.5 in European measures).

The new shoes looked slightly different from the old. The plastic part was a shade of gray rather than orange, and the pattern was subtly different. But it was not hard to believe that it was the same type. Having verified this and also tried walking with one of them on, I decided to buy another pair. These things are subject to fashion, and even with minor modifications I was lucky to find them still existing after two years. I might not be so lucky again. (Or even lucky enough to find the one person in the shop who actually knows what they sell.) So while I do worry that this may be an act of hubris – "I am going to outlive my shoes" – I think it can be forgiven for once. After all, if I have to return to jogging shoes that gnaw the skin off my heels and make my foot hurt after less than an hour, it will do nothing to prolong my life, I think.

Sometimes things go out of production, and I regret not having bought more of it while it existed. Banana yogurt. Blueberry ice cream. Irish Spring deodorant. (Though I suspect any or all of these may still exist in other countries, they are gone here.) Life goes on, and I don't spend my time mourning the inevitable change. All things that have form are subject to change, after all. And I think C.S. Lewis may be right (in Perelandra) that the wish to repeat pleasurable experiences (at one's own choice) is the root of greed. Still, I think taking care of my own health may be allowed without tarnishing my soul overmuch...

Oh, one more thing. Not until I had begun writing this entry did I realize that I bought the previous pair two years ago to the day. Evidently my subconscious is still playing games with me...