Long time, no see

Tomorrow, I will be attending a memorial service for an ex-student who passed away.

Now, I’m pretty insistent that my barefoot lifestyle doesn’t impinge on anybody else so that I should be allowed to be unshod in any given situation. However, I’m not completely without tact; the loss of a young man, someone’s brother, someone’s child, is not the time to impose any kind of ideology that isn't their own.

It was time to get some new shoes.

I only own one pair of covered shoes, some bright white Primus Lite shoes by Vivobarefoot. I plan to wear a black jacket and trousers. I’ve actually worn the combination for the leavers’ dinner for my school’s seniors, but this wouldn’t do for such an occasion. I didn’t have time to order some black leather shoes, as they wouldn’t get to New Zealand on time, so I had to bite the bullet and get some … regular … shoes.

My husband and I popped to Shoe Connection on Lambton Quay. From the outside, it seemed to be a place just for women’s footwear so I didn’t have particularly high expectations. Worse is having rather big feet, most places don’t carry anything I can actually fit. As women’s footwear is typically sold in smaller sizes to start with, I didn’t have much hope that I would (A) find shoes for men, and (B) find any that fit.

Alas, I was (happily) proven wrong!

The kind and helpful sales assistant found a pair of size 13s that fit quite well — but I need extra space in my shoes, minimalist or not, to simulate the freedom of not having any at all. I don’t think we went a size up but certainly wider. Today I learnt: I take a US size 13EEE. I wonder what the EEE stands for?