Lou and I have this very fancy friend in San Francisco.
He’s genuinely the coolest guy I’ve met in ages. He dresses really well, he’s incredibly smart, and, when you’re with this guy, you feel kind of lucky that he wants to spend time with you. A few months ago, Lou and I were in the city, meeting with this friend at a private business lounge in the hippest area of town.
I always feel a bit frumpy, and like I’m not put together very well these days — even when I make an effort. But on this particular occasion, I pulled off what I felt was a pretty decent look. I was wearing trendy jeans, a crisp white cut-and-sewn blouse, and my best, most stylish sandals — which I’d had for about six or seven years. Even though they were old, I always take very good care of my shoes, so they still worked in a pinch.
Well. I guess I need to restate that: they used to work in a pinch.
When Lou and I were following our friend to a table in the corner of the lounge, I suddenly felt my sandal strap snap and give way. My foot immediately slid off the side of the wedge heel, and I stumbled a bit before I could regain my balance. Luckily, Lou was walking in front of me, and so I was pretty sure our fancy friend didn’t catch my blunder. However, one of the attentive waiters took a step forward to make sure I had fully recovered.
I gave the waiter a smile, and a silent, “I’ve got it,”gesture.
Then, I adjusted my stride to compensate for my unsupported foot.
When I sat down at the table, I managed to covertly assess the situation with the strap, and I figured out a way to shove the broken strap back into the hole it popped out of. Then, I casually wedged a piece of the paper cocktail coaster into the hole to try to secure the strap a bit better. I spent the rest of our time with our friend trying to work out the best strategy for how I was going to walk out of the lounge when were finished with our meeting.
Incidents like a sandal strap blow-out happen to me all the time, and they kind of remind me of how clever I can be when I have a minute to think. Sometimes, all I need is a simple strategy to get from Point A to Point B without falling flat on my face. So I know if I can just step out of one disaster, I can almost always find my footing to keep my life moving forward.
