“Signs of Life: What's the story behind the stray shoes along the road? - Berkeley Voice” plus 1 more |
| Signs of Life: What's the story behind the stray shoes along the road? - Berkeley Voice Posted: 14 Oct 2010 10:55 AM PDT It's a mystery to me why I occasionally see a shoe lying by the side of the road. The plastic bags, fast food cups and other detritus of modern life littering the landscape don't surprise me, but I never expect to see a shoe. And it's always just one shoe. No matching shoe in sight. I can't imagine how the black high heel with peep toe, which I just passed in my car, ended up on the roadside. I flash to the Barbie doll I had as a kid. Barbie's shoes never stayed on, so when I'd play with her, one of her shoes would inevitably end up missing. (Like she'd been out late having a little too much fun.) Maybe there's a real woman out there with the Barbie problem. When I see one of these stray shoes, I wonder about the story behind it. For instance, the man's brown, lace-up dress shoe by the roadside, I'm curious if he's missing it. Perhaps the man is dressed in his suit and tie ready to go to work, and he's tearing the house apart wearing only one shoe, trying to find the other. He's calling to his wife, "Do you know where it is?" (If the shoe were in the house, she'd undoubtedly know exactly where.) Spotting the little girl's red Mary Jane shoe gives me pause. It sparkles with a glittery finish, the sort of shoe that's best suited for dress-up games, but a little girl wants to wear it 24/7. I can picture the little girl's pleasure, prancing around in her shoes. I can't help thinking the small shoe by the side of the road looks forlorn, as I imagine the little girl is without it.There's no way I could miss the extremely large man's athletic shoe. It's a white leather high top that's so battered and beat up it gives the impression of having seen a lot of game time. I can't decide if it had accidentally fallen out of his athletic bag or if he chucked it out the window in frustration after a particularly hard game. A woman's white satin T-strap, which I once saw, had certainly been to a big bash. It was the sort of shoe that only comes out for fancy affairs. Maybe a wedding or a prom night. I had no doubt that a close-up of the sole would reveal she danced the night away. And when it was all over, she hung up her dancing shoes. I don't know what happened next. No telling how one of those shoes ended up by the side of the road. I prefer to imagine how the shoe fit in the story that came before. My guess is that these abandoned shoes are nothing more than throwaways, no different from the plastic bags and cups littering the landscape. But that's not a story I like. Pam Majteles is a resident of Piedmont. She lives with her husband and three children and can be reached at pam@majteles.com. Visit her online at www.pamelamajteles.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Skid Row Kids Line Up for School Supplies - msnbc.com Posted: 10 Oct 2010 09:27 AM PDT Families and kids in need got in line as early at 4 a.m. Thursday in front of the Fred Jordan Mission to receive backpacks full of new school supplies, shoes, toiletries and haircuts. Continuing what is billed as the nation's largest "back-to-school" giveaway, the Fred Jordan Mission expected 5,000 of Los Angeles's poorest kids at the mission to receive what are some kids first and only pair of new shoes, as well other essentials like notebooks, pens, backpacks, socks, jeans and hygiene kits. Although Thursday's event is the 22nd annual "back-to-school" giveaway at the mission, it was drastically re-organized this year in hopes to avoid some of last year's pitfalls. The struggling economy was blamed for the crush of people last year, more than 5,500, some of who camped out overnight and started waiting three days before the giveaway. The crowd clogged the streets, creating trash, inhibiting local businesses and blocking deliveries. Prostitutes and drug dealers overtook portable toilets set up at the event. This year, families had to pre-register for the event, receiving a wristband for a two-hour timeslot to go pick up their supplies. The registration was expected to lessen lines and prevent people camping out overnight. Police and volunteers also patrolled, making sure that everything goes smoothly. "We tried to work with the community partners, businesses, police and city officials to see what they would like, how to help them, and at the same time help the poorest members of our society," said event organizer Suzanna Choi in an interview with NBCLA reporter Angie Crouch. Three hundred volunteers will help hand out products, school supplies from companies like Foot Locker, Unilever, In-N-Out Burger, Wal-Mart and Lucky Brand. Paul Mitchell stylists will also provide free haircuts. The mission is welcoming non-registered kids as well. From 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., they planned to give out all of the available supplies. Choi says the event is absolutely necessary for the kids living on Skid Row and others in poverty. "The numbers coming to the Mission have skyrocketed," she said. "People are coming for clothing, food and shoes and at the same time, donations have gone down." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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