Second Thoughts

I was fairly happy with my new sneaker purchases, but like my feet, my satisfaction changes dependent upon weather, humidity, time of day. Yesterday I was waiting for my family to get ready so we could go out to eat at a local restaurant. I thought it'd be the perfect time to try out the Brooks in an outdoor setting. However, waiting around for 15 minutes inside my house made me realize that I was happier wearing my old Ariat FatBaby boots. They don't come in different widths so mine are a 6.5. But they are the most comfortable footwear I own. The Brooks actually hurt my feet on both sides: bunion and directly across. Not sure what that part of the anatomy is called.

I visit each of the sports footwear stores but most carry the same brands: Nike, New Balance, some Asics, a few Converse. No wide sizes. Oh well... I wander down to the other end of the Mall anchored by Shoe Dept Encore and Macy's. The shoe store is huge with vast rows of wearables, and very little staff. I find a promising aisle and scan for the letter W pasted to the boxes, signifying a wide width shoe. And I find them. Sporadically throughout the different brands. I see Avia shoes and remember fondly how they used to be my favorite gym shoe back in the 90s. And they have 6 and 6.5 Ws. So I try them both on, and then buy the larger size. Because they fit, and they're only $25, a mere fraction of other sneakers. I hope they hold up. I've read Amazon reviews where users have reported the shoes falling apart within a few weeks. But of course, they also bought their shoes for $6 during those weird promotionals. I got my fingers crossed.