Reminiscences: Musings in Memoir - Prompt #7

PROMPT #7 — SHOES

Put on my blue suede shoes
And I boarded the plane
Touched down in the land of the Delta Blues
In the middle of the pouring rain
Marc Cohn

Shoes: Sometimes we grow up having “big shoes to fill” or have to learn throughout our lives to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes” — both concepts being about fitting into a ‘step’ that is not our own; one due to other people’s expectations, the other a requirement of acquiring empathy for others. Sometimes we try different shoes on for fit – either literally or metaphorically – and have to stumble around for a while before we realize they aren’t quite right for us. And there is also the idiom of “If the shoe fits…”

There are plenty of varieties of *actual* shoes we might wear in life:

hiking shoes
ballet shoes
walking shoes
tennis shoes
high-heeled shoes

And sometimes ‘shoes’ aren’t exactly *shoes* at all:

snow shoes are like giant tennis rackets you strap your booted feet into to walk over snow
brake shoes are clamps that squeeze over a disc on your vehicle’s brake system
a shoe-in is a ‘perfect fit’ and likely-to-win candidate for a job or a political position

Shoeing can be an activity, as when you shoe a horse.

Going shoeless can likewise be an activity (or an indicator of economic status, depending on the circumstance), as in when you run around barefoot.

Musically: Elvis sang about his blue-suede shoes; Kenny Chesney sang the praises of going shoeless (No shoes, no shirt, no problem); Nancy Sinatra anthemized These Boots Are Made For Walkin’; KC and The Sunshine Band rhapsodized the putting-on of boogie shoes. (And if music is your thing, I’d encourage you to check out the meme, Musically Ranting hosted by Jae Lynn at Rantings of a Nonsensical Mind.)

So for the seventh prompt in the Reminiscences summer writing project, please consider ‘shoes’ (either actually or allegorically).

Did you ever try on your parents’ shoes when you were a kid? Or play dress-up with their discards?
Perhaps you had a pair of shoes that you felt like a million bucks wearing?
Has anyone ever trod on your feet or stabbed you with the heel of their shoe when dancing?
Maybe you have felt the need to take on another/new role – to fill someone else’s shoes – in their absence or upon their passing?
Or perhaps you march to the drumbeat of your own… shoes… like the Riverdance cloggers do:

The point of this writing project is to create new content by writing from your personal memories, with a focus on the form of memoir.

Prompts will be posted on the 10th, 20th, and 30th of each month through August 10th. The purpose of the prompts is simply to provide inspiration. You are welcome to use the prompt literally or figuratively, or as a jumping off point that leads you in another direction all together. You are also welcome to revisit past prompts as the project progresses. Your timing is your own, and adherence to the prompt{s} is not required.

To play:

Write a memoir-esque post.
Link your post either to this prompt or to the Reminiscences project description page. (Use of the badge is optional.)
Leave a comment below – you can use CommentLuv to create a live link to your post on my comment form – to let me know you’re playing.

If you’re not sure how to start or are unsure of how to approach your memoir writing, I encourage you to visit the bloggers who participated in writing for the previous prompt for inspiration:

Thanks also to Sir Thomas, who added his ‘ride’ memories to Prompt #3.

If you wrote something for Prompt #6 – or wrote your memories with (or without) any of the previous prompts as guidance – over the past ten days and do not see your name above, it means I don’t have your link. Please leave one for me and I will add your post! 🙂

For more information about this writing project, see here.

If you have any additional questions, please let me know. 🙂