SHOES AND HANDBAGS

I have always had a thing for purses. Shoes, I can take or leave, and that means generally leave.

Still, I’m nothing if not optimistic. The other day I visited a major department store in Indy and walked through the shoe department thinking maybe I would find a pair of summer sandals to light up my spring and twinkle my toes.

There were a lot of shoes to choose from, and I hated them all.

They had chunky sandals with mile-high platforms, Elton John style. I’d fall off them and twist an ankle just trying them on.

There were stilettos. My body type perched atop stilettos? Umm, no. Plus, how does one walk in the real world where there are sidewalk cracks, gravel, and lots of standing or heaven forbid, hurrying, in heels with the density of a match stick?

There were flats. I can’t do those AT. ALL.

I couldn’t walk in any of these shoes! They all seemed like cartoon versions of footwear.

Where do they keep the shoes women really wear to walk in, I wondered. The nitty-gritty question is Where do they keep the shoes for 58-year-old, plump women with bad feet?

I guess that would be the orthopedics department, which is not found near the entrance of a fancy department store. And those shoes are just as ugly as the department store’s are impractical.

Whatever bad luck I have with shoe shopping, I more than make up for when it comes to handbags. I am extremely picky and have my own unique criteria depending on if the bag is for daily use or travel. Even with my particular standards, I still find plenty to adopt.

Still, I’ve only had one perfect travel purse. I found it, ironically, in a mega-shoe store three years ago. It was one of those moments when I knew I had to buy it although it wasn’t on my shopping list just then. But experience has taught that if I see exactly what I need or anticipate needing, I should get it if the cost is at all reasonable because when the time comes, it won’t be found anywhere.

 On the day I spotted the ideal travel purse, I was six months out from my first overseas trip, and needed a purse that had these things going for it:

• Sturdy shoulder strap long enough to wear cross-body style.
• Zippers, everywhere.
• A zippered outside compartment for my cellphone and some cash so I’m not constantly digging inside the main bag.
• Enough space in the main section to carry some form of a wallet, lipstick, reporter’s notebook, camera, tissue and stray flyers from tourist stops.

The best travel purse anywhere. Or at least it suits me. I never even considered that I might find another one I like as much ...

So I bought the perfect travel purse, black. I bought it for the trip and it was perfection on a strap. Its travel credentials include Israel, Michigan, Minneapolis, Washington, D.C. along with other smaller trips whenever I need free hands, ready access to my stash, and a secure means of carriage.

While the fashionable shoe department was a disappointment this week, the handbag department was not. I looked around for a possible summer version of my ideal travel bag. I knew I would know it when I saw it.

And just like that, there it was! A duplicate of my black travel bag – only in white for summer. It was also on sale.

I now have twin purses.

Oh, if only shoes were that easy.

Hot dog! I found a summer version of my favorite black travel purse.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU …

Shout out to the 100-year-old Valley Mills Friends Meeting Booklovers book club in Indianapolis. I received a surprise invitation yesterday from Merilee Gabriel to speak to the group next month. I invited Merilee and her friends to check out my blogs. I hope they stop by and I surely welcome them.

Here’s something fun. When I asked how in the world my book came on the club’s radar, Merilee said she got my name from someone who works at Earlham College. I don’t know anyone who works there. I love hearing stories like this. For indie authors, our publicity is grass roots. I’m grateful when word spreads.

And, I look forward to our time together in April.