If you have been reading my blog lately, you know that I have a strange obsession with the show Cheers at the current moment. Well for a while I had jumped around, not necessarily watching episodes in order. Recently I started, I believe, in season 8, and yesterday, I finally made it to the series finale. Of course I cried, because heaven forbid I don’t cry at something these days. But I also learned an interesting lesson. If you recall the final episode, it was a 3 parter when Diane comes back, Sam contemplates leaving, and Woody gets everyone a job for the city. But at the very end of the episode, the gang is sitting around the bar talking about how much they all *cough* love *cough* each other.

At one point, they talk about what makes life complete. Carla says having kids, Frasier says life is a cosmic accident, and Cliff says footwear. Without comfortable footwear, no great accomplishment would have been made, that life is chaos without good footwear. At the end of the episode, they all say how glad they are that Sam has stayed, and that if he had left, someone would have some pretty big shoes to fill. Cliff then says, “See! It all comes back to footwear!”

My favorite running shoes, Nike Free v7.0 with side laces

Well Cliff is right in many aspects, in regards to my life anyway. Running for example, is a very trying task if you do not have the appropriate footwear. You will have knee, back and hip problems if your shoes are worn out or not activity appropriate. In marketing, you need to view the idea or promotion from the public’s point of view, or “walk in their shoes” to determine if something if going to work for your brand. A squeaky shoe, wet shoes, or broken shoes can ruin your day. People have shoe addictions, or their baby’s first shoes hanging over the rear view mirror in their car. A new pair of shoes can change the way you feel.

I went looking for some new shoes yesterday, as I have been having a few foot problems with my training schedule. With 44 miles scheduled this week, I don’t expect them to get much better, so I am trying to figure out the best solution so I am not in pain… (odd metaphor to my life right now, but I won’t go into that). So once again, my success, failure, and comfort come down to footwear.

Quite odd, but Cliff Clavin had a good point.