I want the green shoes

When Heidi and I went to The National concert a couple weeks back, there was a guy who stopped to talk to some people in line in front of us. I'm pretty sure he was going to the Beyonce concert at the Target Center across the street, but he was wearing probably the coolest pair of shoes I have ever seen.

Somehow, he managed to pull off green Converse shoes. And he did it with panache and no effort whatsoever.

Now, I am obsessed with obtaining a pair of green canvas shoes. OK, maybe not obsessed, but I really do want some.


I found some online, but man, they are expensive! Every place I look, they're at least 40 bucks. The pair featured above are $50. I know that shoes are expensive, but that seems like a lot to satisfy what might be a temporary whim.

What may seem like a whim actually speaks to deeper issues. I am always envious of men that can pull off daring fashion choices. So frequently, it's the younger guys (20-25) that can do it, whereas you get to your mid to late 30s like me and it gets harder. A lady I know always tells me that I am very metrosexual in many respects (is that word even still ok to use?), which I suppose is true, but only to a point. I dress pretty well, but I am not flashy nor do I like to draw inordinate amounts of attention to myself. There is a guy I have seen at work but do not know who is hands down 1000% more metro than I am. Not surprisingly, he is significantly younger than me and pulls it off effortlessly.

Like so many things in my life, it's a battle between sides, or selves, if you will. One thing I am bound and determined not to do is to degenerate so badly that I am unable to match my socks without my wife's help - not that Heidi would let that happen anyway. Life is about taking chances and risking the comfortable every now and again when you can afford it. I'm not always very good at that, even when there is a pretty strong safety net below me. Now, taking risks and being daring is not to say one should always throw caution to the wind and just do whatever the hell, but to live one's life in the safe and neutral zone is ultimately not very satisfying.

And for these reasons, I want the green shoes. It's not much, but it's a start.