The Good and Evil of Birks

Anyone who has spent any time in a pair of Birkenstocks knows they are the best thing in the whole wide world to put on your feet. They have arch support. They have toe support. They mold themselves to your feet. They are easy on...easy off...my favorite part.

Those are a few of the good things.

I LOVE my Birks. All of them. Other than a couple of pairs of walking shoes and a pair of hiking boots (don't laugh, Nane!), all I wear are Birks...ever. I wear them every day to do every thing. No one dares say to me "You really should invest in a pair of nice dress shoes". No one is looking at my feet or if they are they never say a word. I imagine they are thinking "I wish I had those on instead of these pumps (or these wingtips)." I hope they think "good for her". Perhaps they think I am more intelligent than the average bear. I know I am more comfortable.

But...

Today I splurged on a pedicure. I have not had one since January when the big cutbacks happened. I splurged today because my mother said I could and I always do what my mother tells me to do...especially if it's something fun.

Seeing that it's been so long since I had a pedicure, my feet were a disaster. I think if I dipped them in a vat of lotion and left them there all night, they would still be dry and cracked. I cannot fight it on my own, which is why I started to get pedicures in the first place. I couldn't care less if my toenails are pink. No one sees them anyway except people who love me...unless I'm sewing. I can't sew on a sewing machine with a shoe on. I've noticed this is not uncommon.

I digress.

So, today I had a pedicure. I went to a different spa that had high reviews and had, of all things, a male pedicurist. He was not what you would expect. He was a good ol' Southern boy complete with baseball cap and a deer painting on the wall. He wasn't much of a talker, which is fine with me. I'm not either (writer, yes; talker, no). Let me tell you one thing....that was the best daggone pedicure I have EVER had. He worked and worked and worked and my feet feel like a baby's behind. It was worth every penny.

Now, here comes the evil part. He tells me my Birks are causing my heels to crack and my feet to be so dry. He says the rawhide soaks up all the moisture in my feet. He says I need to stop wearing them and my feet will be 80% better. Awww man! I knew it! Or, at least I've had a sneaking suspicion that wearing leather shoes and no socks was causing the problem.

So he puts those funny little foam flip flops on my feet and paints my toenails pink. He says "All done", picks up my Birks and says "Want me to throw these out for you?" and laughs at the look of horror on my face.

Funny boy.

Maybe I'll start wearing my hiking boots every day. NOW there's a fashion statement!