Goooood morning, bloggers! I know it’s old, really old….but it’s almost Saturday and the prompt is guess. I guess my family is grooving to the latest dance tunes at their friend’s son’s wedding. Strange when your kids have kids old enough to have a wedding. Great news came yesterday. My son in law’s father is having a new school named after him! I knew he was a wonderful man, I mean look at the son he raised! But this is a tremendous honor and I’m proud of him. I’ll leave you with an old Sam Cooke song, enjoy!
My first thought was a book I read a million years ago written by Steve Martin, “Cruel Shoes”.
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Of course I laughed and loved this book but I also wore cruel shoes before 1999 when I had back surgeries. I can’t imagine why you would want to wear a shoe that puts your spine off kilter and half your toes are either sticking out or unceremoniously smushed causing damage in other ways. Below is one of the short stories from the book:
CRUEL SHOES
Anna knew she had to have some new shoes today, and Carlo had helped her try on every pair in the store. Carlo spoke wearily, “Well, that’s every pair of shoes in the place.”
“Oh, you must have one more pair…”
“No. Not one more pair… Well, we have the cruel shoes, but no one would want…”
Anna interrupted, “oh yes, let me see the cruel shoes.”
Carlo looked incredulous. “No, Anna, you don’t understand. You see, the cruel shoes are…”
“Get them!”
Carlo disappeared into the back room for a moment then returned with an ordinary shoebox. He opened the lid and removed a hideous pair of black and white pumps. But these were not an ordinary pair of black and white pumps; both were left feet, one had a right angle turn with separate compartments that pointed the toes in impossible directions. The other shoe was six inches long and was curved inward like a rocking chair with a vise and razor blades to hold the foot in place.
Carlo spoke hesitantly… “now you see why… they’re not fit for humans…”
“Put them on me”
“But…”
“Put them on me!”
Carlo knew all arguments were useless. He knelt down before her and forced the feet into the shoes.
The screams were incredible. Anna crawled over to the mirror and held her bloody feet up where she could see — “I like them.”
She paid Carlo and crawled out of the store into the street.
Later that day, Carlo was overheard saying to a new customer, “Well, that’s every shoe in the place. Unless, of course, you’d like to try the cruel shoes.”
Well not a very pleasant one. I was elated last week to find in a yearly checkup that I had lost quite a bit of weight and my blood pressure would make a teenager jealous😂. However, blood tests came back saying all my dietary changes did not touch my cholesterol and triglyceride levels. I’m reluctantly picking up a script for a Med today.
One of my sisters and I inherited this condition from our mom. Even though mom dieted and kept active she couldn’t beat it, costing her life with a heart attack. That was 46 years ago so hopefully the meds are better now. I detest going on meds for anything and have done well without them but now if I’m to remain **immortal as my kids and grandkids say, I don’t have a choice.
**I have actually died twice in anaphylactic shock and my heart stopped for a while. Let’s not do that again🙄😂
So how is your day going? I hope you’re doing something fun.
You can either free write using these questions as inspiration or answer the question as they are. If you prefer you can pick and choose the questions that apply to you. Have fun.
1. When did you learn to ride a bike? Were you self-taught or did someone teach you? Any major injuries on the way? Did you master the skill? Do you still ride? If applicable, did you teach your kids?
2. Did you learn to play a musical instrument? At what age? Who taught you? How often did you practice? Were you in band at school? How good were you? Do you still play? If applicable, did you encourage your kids to play?
3. Did you sing in a choir in church or at school? At what age? How often did you practice? Did you enjoy it? How good were you? Do you still sing with others?
4. Did you have formal instructions on speaking a second language? Were you fortunate enough to be raised in a house with two or more languages? Did you learn a second language in school? Are you fluent in more than one language?
5. Did you to play on a sports team or learn martial arts? At what age did you start? Did a parent become a coach? Did you practice at home? Do you still play sports? If applicable, did you encourage your children to play on a team?
6. Did you ever take dance, tap, ballet, baton, cheerleading, etc. lessons? When did you start? How long did you take lessons? Did you practice on your own in addition to the lessons? How skilled did you become? Did you encourage your children to do the same?
7. Did you learn to roller skate or ice skate? Did someone teach you or did you take lessons? At what age did you learn? Did you become skilled quickly? Can you still skate? Did you teach your children.
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1. I received a bike for my 13th birthday and I was scared to try it, ending up with embedded coal in my knee that’s still there. I was petrified to ride on a road with cars and I never enjoyed the experience at all. Our kids all ride bikes well and the boys had motorcycles.
2. I took piano lessons and played the organ we had at home. My kids all play instruments.
3. I am not a singer but was in the chorus in high school.
4. No but I wish I had learned Spanish because of living in TX and CO.
5. This question makes me laugh because like the bike I have no athletic ability. Even in gym my first time as the softball pitcher I was hit directly in the face after the batter hit the ball. I never learned though and tried most everything just to fail.
6. No but I had a boyfriend who was a good dancer and we used to make up routines for contests. It was fun and helped my confidence.
7. I ice skated well as a kid and roller skated a bit when taking my kids to the rink. Ice skating was great fun on our large farm property on a pond my dad built and on brooks frozen over that weaved along.
“It’s red!” She exclaimed buoyantly at the sight of the long dreamed for scooter. Her love, Jeremy, replied, “Only for you my darling, I know you’ve always wanted one.” Jeremy decided to truncate the running lie he told all of the women he liked. Being a millionaire had its perks.
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The Bag Lady 
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