Ever in search of the perfect pair of footwear, I’m also enough of a pragmatist to realize that such a lofty goal can never be realized. My favorite boots in WYO won’t work on NYC streets–at least not without an additional couple hundred bucks budgeted to cabs. I guess I’ll have to pass on the four inch platforms for my ten day vacation. I’ll be taller when I don’t have to walk so much.

Today, however, I received a package that melted away years of shoe cynicism. My new running shoes arrived, wrapped in miles of bubble wrap and weighing no more than a pair of socks. I cradled them both, one in each hand, staring at the fine work those Vietnamese children put into my Nike Luna Racers. They’re so lightweight, so finely constructed, that I do believe they might run themselves. I certainly hope so, as I don’t particularly have the energy to put in the effort myself.

Looking at this work of man-made material genius, I’m convinced that these shoes will run faster, farther, and for so long that I can eat dinner AND dessert. 

I just might skip my outbound flight and run the 2,000 miles to Manhattan. Look for the neon blur racing past Kansas on Friday morning….