Outsmarting The Shoe

 

Infuse laughter. No matter what occurs. Whether it be a friendly tease. An embarrassing moment. Or somebody's lame joke. Infuse laughter, anyway. For cracking up always, always, always lifts one's spirits!! "Laughter is the best medicine"!! I am progressively beginning to learn this truth. Honestly? I can be so serious sometimes during such cases as a friendly tease, or an embarrassing moment!! But I am working on that. Slowly.... Throughout the Summer months, our neighbors' tree drops something prickly. I am not certain what, but it is tiny and thorny. One afternoon, I was walking Rose. Suddenly, sans warning, she began to limp. My heart stopped. "Are you limping?!" I asked Rose as though she could answer me. Common sense immediately replaced panic. I then checked Rose's troublesome paw, hoping to find something. And there it was. A dropping from our neighbors' tree. Stuck in Rose's paw!! Poor baby!! I gently pulled it out. No blood, and Rose's limp stopped!! Immediately!! What a huge sigh of relief!! After that experience, we started to avoid passing our neighbors' house. So. To create a little fun, we began running--full-speed!!--across the street. Downhill. On loose gravel. While wearing baby blue crock-like shoes. Plus, Rose is securely attached to my right wrist!! Yikes!! This all equals a dangerous risk of falling for someone like me who is clumsy!! Had my sometimes irrational mind even thought about that? Yes. Because I will never forget last November, when I was running, full speed, on a curve, while wearing navy blue crock-like shoes, in our muddy backyard. Why? Because I crashed, my right leg buckled under, and something popped!! I cringe just remembering that!! I could have broken my leg, ankle and foot.... All at once!! Oh, it hurt like no other injury that I have ever experienced!! And, I've sprained both ankles, dislocated a knee, tried to throw out my right arm--three times during one year!!--so, I know pain. I tolerate pain!! But my psych refuses to forget that agonizing pain after making impact with our muddy backyard. Gravity. You cannot break the laws of physics, as my Dad always says. Well. I am hard to break!! Trust me on that one. This theory has been tested!! Repeatedly. And, the injury? It was bad. Really, really bad. But, I can now flex my knee sans difficulty. Point all five toes without sharp pain. And, although I still experience occasional leg/foot/heel discomfort, I'm long recovered!! Anyway. Returning to my story. Okay. One morning, Rose and I partook in our dangerous-yet-fun high-speed dash across a downhill street of loose gravel, this nervous expression written across my face, the primary goal being not to collapse. Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall, don't fall!! And, suddenly, with little warning, I lost my left crock-like shoe!! That's right. Lost it!! Like Cinderella with her magical glass slipper!! It fell off--still-attached heel strap and all--in the middle of our street!! "Aaah!!" I squealed. Obviously, I was caught completely off guard!! Then, with this bewildered expression on my face, I stared at the crock-like shoe for a few fleeting seconds. Finally, I crossed our street to retrieve it. Rose always anticipated these runs. But I oft wonder if she knows the truth about me: I am weird and crazy!! I slipped the crock-like shoe back on. I crossed back over toward a neighbor's sidewalk. And then, I laughed!! What else was there to do? I infused laughter!! I have zero idea, exactly, how my crock-like shoe slipped off.... Or why it happened again during our next run!! So. For our third dash across the street, I had a plan: Outsmart my shoe!! Prior to running, during lovely Autumn weather, I slipped them both off. And, crock-like shoes in my left hand, I ran. With dangerous abandon!! The bottoms of my feet stung a bit afterward, but that was worth it!! Absolutely!! I then walked on sidewalk, feeling its rough cement upon my bare feet. Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch!! I wore a self-satisfactory cock-eyed smirk across my face. So what if I am weird and crazy....?