You Are Known by Your Shoes

In my Methodist Blogger Profile, Gavin Richardson asked me:

What would be your most important piece of advice about life?

To which I replied:

Always wear shoes in which you can run at full speed or fight, if necessary. You never know what the day may bring.

Mostly in jest. Mostly. I actually do follow this advice. Your choice of footwear says a lot about yourself. Flip-flops and their related cousins prevent a person from moving at anything faster than a moderate walk over a smooth surface -- that's why I never wear them. Ever. I have no open-toed shoe in my collection (3 pairs) and never will. I can even run in my dress shoes, and have (across O'Hare airport) There are random moments in which I may need to walk briskly, run, or go off into the deep woods.

Example: at the annual Florida Folk Festival, a woman collapsed from heat stroke. Remembering that paramedics were stationed 200 yards away, I sprinted over to them through rough terrain to inform them of the situation. This is a feat that I could not have accomplished in open-toed shoes.

Keeping this in mind, when I interview people for jobs, I never hire anyone who wears flip-flops or houseshoes. Why? Because it is a sign that the prospective employee is not used to moving briskly. It is a sign of sloth, which is not a favorable quality in any job that I have ever worked.

So you can look at my advice in the Methodist Blogger Profile and conclude, "He's being silly and overreacting to potential dangers." Au contraire, mon ami! The Manalo brings us the story that flip flops can even kill you:

An injured 38-year-old mother of two and a handful of rescuers spent more than two hours in sweltering Butte Creek Canyon Tuesday after the woman fell about 100 feet while sightseeing.

Julie Cordero and her family — husband Danny Jr., son Danny III and daughter Jamie — stopped between Paradise and the home in Chico about 4 p.m. to take in the view from Lookout Point.

As three family members studied a makeshift memorial to one of Lookout Point’s previous victims, Julie Cordero edged close to the canyon edge several yards away.

“She was wearing flip flops,” said Butte County Fire/CDF Life Safety Officer Steve Fowler. “She turned to walk away and slipped feet first into the canyon.”