For the most part I am considered social and gregarious. I can come
across as flighty and while I don't have an actual medical degree, I can
relate to what lizardinlaw is saying as far as it applies to my job
in footwear. I don't really know how this starts, but sometimes I will
have a feeling that something is not right when I meet new feet. At
times there are obvious problems, but what I'm referring to are those
hunches that may or may not be correct as far as others can prove, but
some part of me realizes that I am right, or at least on a productive track.
The best example I can give is something that happened recently. I
was writing about San Diego Padres' middle infielder Jedd Gyorko's footwear when I saw that I had a new
follower at my @Saberfeet Twitter account. It was him and for a moment I
couldn't believe it. I went ahead with the piece, but then I had a lot
of difficulty getting across what I wanted to say. While I was scrolling
through his pictures, he has twin boys and I wanted to see cute babies, I found a photograph of him and his wife when they were
dressed up. Suddenly I knew why he had developed plantar fasciitis
without fully understanding why others do.
I think it was last night, but it could have been the night before, I
either had a dream or a moment where I was in a dreamlike state when I
found myself thinking about Clayton Kershaw. This came out of nowhere
and I didn't pay it much attention because I didn't know why the prompt
was there or what to do about it. Today I was reading a post about minor
league ballplayers when I came across a picture of Kershaw with two
other baseball players. When I saw his feet I noticed his well worn
shoes and suddenly two parts of the puzzle clicked together.
Today I read a piece by Isaac Asimov about the need for people who
see how two things that may not seem related can fit together. At the
time it was an interesting article, but then I saw the post
that gave me the impetus to write this. I heard an almost audible click that wasn't really a noise. But a bell went off in my head and I know what she means when she talks about going to get the
OB, or getting vibes on other people. That part doesn't apply to me the
way it does to her. Unfortunately for me, this gift seems to be solely
consigned to the footwear aspect of my life.
I really don't know why I feel compelled to write about Clayton
Kershaw's untied shoes. While it is true that he is a celebrity and a good
left handed pitcher, that's not why I need to write this. I may never
learn what the real reason is and it may not matter since he is
obviously not pitching in his old worn out sneakers. I can try to ignore
these compulsions as there are times when they don't go anywhere and I
have made my peace with that. Call it a muse, serendipity,
inspiration, whatever. Until I read this I didn't realize that real
doctors used this type of feeling to make decisions, or why it was so important to listen to those
insistent internal voices. For me being called a footwear expert is not so
much an accolade, it's a way to describe what I can do for others whether
we connect in a meaningful manner or forever remain strangers.