Cool Enough

I've needed a new pair of shoes for months. Really, for over a year.

See, about a year ago, I looked at my sneakers and decided that they were pretty nasty looking. It was getting to the point that I was almost embarrassed to wear them in public. They still got the job done though. They covered my feet. They made it so I could walk on gravel without cringing. I mean, they weren't magic shoes, but they've been good enough.

But they were falling apart. And so I made a trip to the shoe department inside my local Super Target and bought a cheap pair of off-brand running shoes. Not that I run. But they were comfortable, and again, they got the job done. Until about a week later when the sole ripped off the right shoe. I tried gluing it back on, but the comfort was gone. When I would put that right shoe on, I constantly felt as if something was poking into my heel. In my opinion, that is not getting the job done. Bad shoes!

I knew I couldn't just go back to the cheap shoes at the Super Target. Don't get me wrong, I like Target just fine. But when you buy cheap sneakers, you get what you pay for. However, being on the tight budget that I constantly find myself on, I couldn't really afford to just waltz into a real shoe store and get the latest pair of Nikes on the market.

So I waited. When it comes to buying clothes and shoes, I have a real easy time in talking myself out of making a purchase. I hate spending money on things other than food and books. I just, most of the time, don't see the point. I have a closet full of clothes that I hate wearing, and some clothes I don't think I've worn since I moved to North Carolina. (I know, I should really give them to Goodwill or something)

I waited some more. Mostly because after all these months, I still couldn't talk myself into buying the much needed new pair of sneakers. The "new" sneakers with the uncomfortable sole sat on my bedroom floor, completely unused. The old sneakers that looked ratty but still felt okay, well, I went back to wearing those whenever the occasion called for it.

And then, one week, I had a really good week delivering pizza. Tips were very generous, as they occasionally are. Thus, I found myself with an extra $50 that I hadn't planned on having. I figured that a $50 pair of shoes from Kohl's would be a lot better than a $15 pair from the Target. Maybe I could find a pair that wouldn't fall apart after three wearings.

I walked into the store with a general idea of what I wanted. Now, bear in mind that I am not a shoe person. For one thing, I'm not a girl, and if I've learned anything from commercials for Sex and the City, it's that all women are obsessed with shoes. For another, I really don't care what the shoes look like. I mean, I care a little. But, pretty much, I just want shoes that are comfortable that don't look like clown shoes. After that, I'm pretty happy with whatever I can find for what I want to pay.

The shoe section had a large variety of shoes that I found interesting: Reeboks, Nikes, Adidases. And then I saw the Converse display. See, a few months ago, my friend The Charlatan mentioned the Converse Chuck Taylor All-Stars. He kind of built them up in my mind as the coolest shoes in existence. And I remembered some of the kids in school having them when I was younger, but I never did. And do you know what helped the argument for "coolest shoes ever"? The fact that Chuck, on the TV show Chuck, wears Chucks.

Needless to say, I wanted them. And they were only $45, which was within my expected spending limit. But as I tried them on, I began to doubt myself. I felt the need to ask others if I was actually cool enough to wear these shoes in public. But I got no response while I was in the store. So I counted my self-doubt as a part of my lack of cool. And I started looking for a different pair of shoes. I found a pair of Reeboks that were ten dollars cheaper. In this case, my wallet won the argument.

When I left the store, I got return texts from The Charlatan and The Most Awesome Person I Know telling me that I could, in fact, pull off the Chucks. But it was already too late. I had already bought the Reebok sneakers and they are getting the job done. I'm pretty sure that next time I have an extra $45, I'll be going back to get those black low-tops.

What do you think? Am I cool enough to wear the Chucks?