We need so many things to keep our stupid lives going
My shoes are cracked and worn, fucked with years of overexposure to manmade concrete surfaces covering everything. The laces have disappeared from the left shoe, and I never bothered to replace them, opting instead to walk around with the tongue absurdly flapping about. The other shoe is equally destroyed and has worn away at the front, where my toe is beginning to show through. Paired together they represent an incongruous mess of the falling apart, making the mad dash in unison toward total disintegration (a day which will show by with my shoes and clothing disintegrating off of me completely, leaving me naked and barefoot as I stride out into the new day). Additionally, the bottoms have begun wearing away in different sections, making them not particularly choice footwear for rainy days. Today the melted ice from the sidewalk accumulates and makes its way easily into the bottom of my shoes, saturating much of my socks and feet. I register this with the slight pulsating sting that occurs at the foot-level when the human skin comes in contact with cold wet substances and causes small curse words to come out of my mouth. Later, at work, my shoes have begun to dry and smell, much to the chagrin of my unfortunate coworkers, who have to sit within my immediate proximity all day. These same coworkers will later gather in the hallway, circling around and talking in hushed tones about the faint aroma coming from under my desk—a fear instilled in me years ago at a temp job, where a fellow-temp actually did receive a call from his agency, telling him to clean up his act. It was not the aroma of body funk, another coworker diligently explained, so much as it was the lurid reek of feet which did him in. All of which has rendered a lifelong fear in me, and which is made one hundred percent tangible moments ago when a coworker turns and asks, what is that smell, mang?? There is a moment of conjecture before Joy produces, with her Sauerkraut lunch, ready to eat.

I really probably should buy a new pair of shoes, soon. Because you never can underestimate of good footwear.