Lesson 97: Footloose

You were not awake in the 80's if the movie Footloose does not conjure up some memories for you.  The above clip is from the ORIGINAL movie, not the recent remake out in theaters right now.  Eloise is a traditional girl.  I always love originals.  Any "first" is hard to top in my book.  Seconds are always compared to the firsts no matter how good they are.  I haven't seen the movie yet, but I can almost bet The Lamp Post that I'll enjoy the new version, but it will pale in comparison to the original.

I never quite understood the fascination with Kevin Bacon.  He is an OK actor and all, but he didn't do a thing for me then, nor does he now.  I really enjoyed the character Ariel, the preacher's daughter, played by actress Lori Singer in the 1984 version.  I remember she loved to dance, and high school dances were banned from her small, mid-western town.  But what I remember most are her red boots.  Remember these, Girls?  Did you want a pair for yourself?  I sure did.  The crappy part now is that the producers incorporated them into the new movie, too.  Unfortunately Ladies, beauty Julianne Hugh wears them in the 2011 version.  If you go on a date night to this flick and afterwards decide to splurge on a pair for yourself, your man won't be thinking of YOU in the red boots.  He'll be thinking of HER.  Look.  Can you see why?  Life just doesn't seem fair sometimes, does it?

Eloise is a boot girl herself.  I've always wanted to throw all caution to the wind and invest in a pair of red ones for myself.  If I never had the guts to wear them out, I'd just do so around the house or hold them to my nostrils and smell the leather. But now I have to rethink all that because of that darn old Julianne (Public Enemy #2---Faith Hill is #1, remember).  I prefer to wear boots because they keep my feet snug and dry as I travel about my day, sloshing through the Erie wetness a good half the year.  My job deems me a "traveling teacher", meaning I move from school to school, dragging my bags through snow and puddles like an encyclopedia salesman in the 1970's.  If there is one thing in the world I cannot stand is a wet sock.  My boots keep my feet nice and dry.

Reminiscent of my friend Angie, who often posts a picture of her feet to show her location in the world, I too will post a photo of my tootsies. Usually Angie's feet are floating in some turquoise bottomed pool.  Angie loves to posts those pics when Erie is in the middle of a raging blizzard.   My boots are not as cool as Ariel's, but they get the job done.  They are propped on the window seat of the Lamp Post.  You can see my daisy curtains and if you look very closely, you can even see out the window.  Yes, the Lamp Post is way high up, just like you imagined it would be.

My girls are boot lovers too.  Here are some of our other stylish numbers.  Some will say "how hip" and others will say, "holy cow are those ugly."  We don't care.  They suit us just fine and are perfect for fall football games in the mud and rain.  Mine are the rose ones.

I don't splurge on many things.  My sister calls me the Clearance Rack Queen.  "Where did you get that cool shirt?" she'll inquire.  I look at her, tilt my head and half smile, before we say together in unison, "clearance rack."  But I do not cheap out on footwear.  You have to take care of your feet.  Eloise gives this advice:  bag the Starbucks coffee and save your money for the three most important, spare-no-expense-body parts---eyes, teeth, and feet.  Without those, you're pretty much screwed.  If you're hurting in all three areas, you'd be crippled, blind, and toothless.  Heed my warning, Readers.

I treat myself to good running shoes twice a year--on my birthday, March 3rd, and again on Labor Day weekend, which is about six months from then.  My sneakers have a life cycle almost like the butterfly--egg, larva, pupa, adult.  Mine goes:  treadmill, trail, yard, creek.  They usually meet their deaths by drowning---I use them to walk in creeks with.  I eventually have to throw them out because they start to smell.  Take a look below at the evolution of my sneakers.  The first photo is my newest pair--my Mizunos which I think should be called Footwear of the Gods.  I've never had such a well fitting shoe.  I'd wear them all the time if I could.

 Finding a new love for running has taken a toll on my poor feet.  My second toes have grown wayward, literally, and are starting to overlap my big toe.  It's hard enough turning 40, let alone coming to the realization that you inherited your grandmother's knobby, gnarled feet.  I'm going to fight my genetics every step of the way and added another very expensive    foot covering to my shoe rack---the running toe-shoe.  They are not cheap, but Eloise highly recommends them for anyone having toe problems.  I don't run in them like Prince Harry does (for real--go check it out Slovenians--you're closer to England than me).  I just wear mine around my house after work.  They took a little getting used to.  At first it kind of feels like cardboard is wedged between all of your toes, but after awhile it feels good.  It's like a mini foot massage every time you have them on.  Scroll down past the rotten creek shoes to see them.  Mine are the bluish ones and Ellen duped me into buying her the pink and black ones.  I did make the offer to Natalie, too, although she didn't formally request a pair. We tried to cram one onto her foot and a mere ten seconds into the process Driselda loudly protested, "No thank you yuck!"  In the world of autism that means a flat out NO.


So Readers, you've seen Eloise's hands playing the piano and now you've seen my crooked toe and some of my footwear.  You are getting to know me a little better each day, aren't you?  A reader wrote to me once saying that I am like the next door neighbor to Tim Allen on Tool Time--the one where you only saw the top of his hat over the fence.  I thought that was funny, but now you can all think of me like Norm's wife on cheers.  All we ever saw of Vera was her shoes coming down the steps on that last episode.  Wasn't that cool?  If you didn't get what I just made reference too, you probably didn't think the original version was better than the new version of Footloose, so that means you were in your playpen when Footloose and Cheers were popular.  I guess this wasn't the blog post for you then, but keep reading because good old Eloise is full of stories.

Enjoy your video.  You'll be humming that tune for the next three days.  It's on iTunes for a buck twenty nine. Treat yourself to some Kenny Loggins.  You are worth it.  

Always, Eloise