I can not deny that I love shoes. I buy them as often as I can; I just love the way shoes can make an outfit. We judge people based on the shoes they put on their feet; it's just something we do as a society. It may not be conscious, but we all do it.
If you go to a bowling alley, you walk in wearing your own shoes. Sometimes they are expensive, fancy shoes. Sometimes they are boots, flip flops, high heels, sneakers, or the latest pair of trendy shoes - whatever you are trying to put out there, whatever message you are trying to convey, you walk in the door with it. But. Once you go inside and throw on a pair of bowling shoes, everyone is putting out the same exact message. All of a sudden, wealth, social status, personality - they all become invisible; the tacky two-tone shades of the 1970's cover over any judgements we can make about each other.
You know how you can go somewhere - a store, a show, a restaurant - and strangers generally don't smile at each other or talk unless they have to? Well tonight, when I was bowling, I noticed that when I looked at a stranger as he bowled next to me, he smiled. How can you not smile when you're all wearing silly bowling shoes? I am grateful for bowling shoes - they keep everyone on even ground.
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