I'm going to shop for a new pair of athletic shoes today. I'd like a pair of high top basketball shoes. They are the most comfortable. Truth is I'm not very athletic. My knees are creaky from when I used to run. Mostly I'm worried that someone will challenge me to a game. That's what happened last time I owned a pair. I got no game. People think because I'm skinny and black that I got "mad ups". I'm built more for distance than speed or power. I have a very patient floor game. I didn't play at all as a kid and I play very badly now. That could improve cuz I bought a book. We'll see.
What I do know is since the '99 LA Marathon (I finished last) that I'm not running anymore. I can stop buying uncomfortable running shoes. Not all running shoes are uncomfortable. I gave up a more popular brand, because of the miserable treatment of the international labor that produce them, in favor of a less comfortable brand that manufactures at least some of the shoes in the US. Enough. People are always asking if I want to run with them. I don't. Maybe a walk. I work out several times a week, but my feet stay on the floor.
I own a pair of Chuck Taylor All-Stars. A basketball shoe that hasn't changed since the '50s. If I walk onto a basketball court in those, people know I'm ready to play poker.
