Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Shoe on the road

Once upon a time, a pair of well-loved Rainbow sandals went on an African adventure. On a dark and stormy night, the truck carrying the suitcase in which the sandals were riding, turned over in the rain, scattering luggage and clothes--as well as the sandals--all over the side of a small dirt road in Kenya. Though many of the items were eventually returned to their owners, many things were mixed up, given to the wrong people and, sadly, many possessions were just plain lost.
Poor Mr. Left Rainbow Sandal was among the items safely returned to me...but, sadly, his twin was lost in the accident, the whereabouts a mystery to everyone. We searched through all the returned luggage, through everyone's belongings in hopes of finding Mr. Right Rainbow, to no avail.
That was five months ago.
Oddly enough, I have kept Mr. Left Rainbow all this time--in crazy hopes, I guess, that one day, his mate would show up. Though I often thought of throwing him out, I realized that seeing that shoe alone in my closet was a reminder of how wonderful those days in Kenya were--especially those first few days of no suitcases, of borrowing each others' clothes and of how we all quickly realized that it was such a minor inconvenience compared to the tasks we were to carry out in Kenya. Mr. Left Rainbow made me smile each time I saw him in my closet. Truly.
Last Friday night, I saw my friend, sweet Caroline at our Kenya reunion. She came over to me and said, "Oh, guess what? I have your sandal at my house!" Caroline, who stayed through October in Kitale, went on to tell me the sandal 'miraculously' showed up one day! I couldn't believe it.
So guess what arrived in my mail today?
Mr. Right Rainbow Sandal--returning from his extended vacation! Amazing! After nearly FIVE months of separation, the shoes are together again!
I had since bought another pair, of course. But, no doubt, this pair will be in my possession for a long, long time.
These
shoes will always have a very special story to tell. And, they will live happily ever after...

Hmm, do you think the moral of the story is...'never stop looking for Mr. Right'?

7 comments:

Chris T (alanna's mom) said...

No, I don't think that is the moral of the story.....I think that if you keep looking for Mr. Right, you'll just end up with a couple of old, worn out "souls" with a good story! Just take care & cherish the new ones..they just might be your "soulmates"!
PS: I also think you should put those old Rainbows in a shadow box & hang them on your wall...that would be cool!

Zuzana said...

What a lovely story with an happy ending! Glad your sandals are reunited.;))
I have a similar one with my favourite earrings; I lost one when visiting my parents in Sweden while still living the US.
Upon my return home to NC, I kept the other one in my box and what do you know; when my parents moved a few years after, they found the twin behind some furniture.;)

Gina Vistaunet said...

Very nice story. I love that you can relate Mr. Right into a pair of shoes. You are so romantic.

TheHuntsAreRad said...

I love this story! It's like homeward bound for rainbows! So great.

PETE Di LALLO said...

An exiting story...
if a movie was made about Benjamin Button ShoeTime TV can do your story...
love your title too...

Anonymous said...

love this story...made me happy :)

Eliane said...

Absolutely!!!! never, never, never give up looking for Mr. Right or at least stay curious.