What Shoe Are You?

It was flu season in Oklahoma and I was standing in a bank of lines at our local med center waiting for my turn at the check in counter.  It was unusual to see the clinic lines so backed up. There were roughly 5 lines with 5 people in each line.  The very agitated, powerfully dressed, 70 something man in front of me frustratingly declared that the problem lay with the IT department and the inept people at the counter in front of us who were not yet up to speed on the new software system they had just received.  His perfectly coifed, petite wife, in her matching twinset and shoes was quite embarrassed by his loud display of displeasure. 

I noticed him disgustedly looking at someone just over my right shoulder in the next line.  He elbowed Twinset and motioned with his head for her to look as well.  She raised her eyebrows at what she was seeing and shook her head with displeasure. 

Well I had no choice!  Right?  I had to look.  As sly as possible, I stole a glance.

Next to me was a twenty something, disheveled, young woman.  She had piled her hair up in a messy bun…okay, a tornado of a bun.  She wore pajama pants, house shoes, slept in night shirt and had a white piece of tissue stuffed into each nostril.  It appeared she literally rolled out of bed and came to the med center.  To top it off, she was too exhausted to hold a tissue to her nose.  That would take too much effort. 

As I turned back to the front of the line, Power Suit and Twinset were waiting to see my reaction.  There was no time to give one as our attention was abruptly drawn to a commotion at the far-left end of the hallway.  All 25 of us stopped and watched the zoo of a man that was dancing toward us, singing loudly, off key due to the earbuds in his ears.  He was wearing a tie-dyed Scooby Doo t shirt, camo pants, backwards hat and untied, bright green Converse high tops.  (A zoo!)  He was truly enjoying himself and obviously wanted all of us to see and hear the spectacle he was creating. 

The closer he got to the crowd the more apparent it was that he had no intention of going around the group.  Nope!  He was coming right through the middle.  I took a step back to create room between myself and the surprisingly quiet, stunned folks in front of me. 

Just as Zoo Boy was in front of Pajama Pant girl, he turned on a dime, popped those earbuds out and got right up into my space.  

“Is that you who smells so good?” he asked me.

I was taken back and completely tickled in the span of a half of a second.  I chuckled around uncomfortably and finally stammered out, “well, um, it could be.”  I sniffed my hand.  “I just used some new Bath & Body lotion before I came in here.”

I kid you not, he grabbed my hand, pressed it to his mouth and nose and said, “That is heaven. Never stop wearing that!”

I heard and audible gasp from Twinset as he popped those earbuds back in, resumed singing and danced his way right through the rest of the crowd. 

I stood there with my hand suspended in air watching him go and not knowing what to do with this offending appendage.  Power Suit sprang into action.  “Tell me you know him!  He did not just sniff the hand of a total stranger!” he demanded. 

I shook my head with a strained, awkward chuckle.  “I’ve never seen him before in my life!” I replied.

“You want me to go get him?  I will!  That’s not okay!  Who does that?”  Power Suit was clearly ready to take control of the situation.

He glanced at my still suspended hand and tapped on his wife’s perfectly matching purse and said “Honey, help her out.”

Twinset popped open the tidiest pocketbook I’ve ever seen and sensibly asked, “Do you want sanitizing gel or wipes?”

It was an impressive sight.  She had an assortment.  She was well prepared. It was flu season, after all. 

I chose gel.  She was carefully applying in to my hand and giving me detailed instructions on how to rub it in for most the effectiveness, when she commented that some people just have no couth.  Then she cut her eyebrows back over to Pajama Pants as if to include her in the comment.

I turned to check on Pajama Pants’ reaction to the whole crazy scene that had played out in front of us, only to find her now seated on the floor…in a germ infested medical clinic, during flu season, munching on a granola bar.  She just couldn’t be bothered to stand any longer. She was tired.  The effort was just too much.

I said to her, “Well, that guy was something, wasn’t he?” 

She cocked her head to one side, shrugged her shoulders and said in a stuffy voice, “It takes all kinds to make the world interesting.”

In that moment I realized she was indeed correct.  People are so different.  Life had just handed me a true gift.  I just saw the 4 Personality Shoes experience the same situation with wildly different reactions.  This was priceless.

Zoo Boy is a Clown Shoe:  Wants attention, Has no physical bubble, Likes to dress in clothing that is fun, Never meets a stranger.  (I too am a Clown Shoe in this story…hence the chuckling and tickled response)

Power Suit is a Combat Boot:  Wants people to speed up, Takes initiative to right wrongs, States opinions freely, Dresses like a leader.

Twin Set is an All Business Shoe: Does not want to cause a scene, Prepared for disaster, Neat appearance, Wants others to be more polished.

Pajama Pants is a House Shoe:  Wants everyone to just get along, Non judgmental, Prefers comfortable clothing, Not easily ruffled.

So this leaves me wondering….which one resonates most with you? 

Please let me know in the comments.  I would love to hear your thoughts!

Peaches to ya!
Lori
www.whatshoeareyou.com