Thwarted Plan to Try On Tom's Shoes

I had this intricate plan on Wednesday to try on a pair of shoes.

Tuesday night, I found myself on the website for Tom's Shoes, a casual footwear company that donates a pair of shoes for each pair sold. I had heard of them before and never really gave much thought to buying a pair of their shoes, though found their cause noble.

With the Kauai trip quickly approaching, I thought a pair of Tom's Shoes would look good in paradise, wearing shorts-and-a-t-shirt and holding an adult beverage in a coconut.

While I love shopping online, I almost never buy shoes online because of my feet - they're not too big and are pretty wide. Strange genes I was blessed with. I have spent much of my adult life in New Balance or Rockport, two companies that reliably make comfortable wide shoes. Every so often, I'll find another brand that fits in particular styles - my Hurleys, Campers, and Johnston & Murphys in particular. But I usually don't waste my time, and stick with what I know works.

I decided that I was going to find a local retailer that carried Tom's Shoes and try them on for size there. I'd even buy them if they had a style I liked. While such a mundane task shouldn't become much of an eventful adventure, today's plan became a bit of one.

First, I realized that I left the house without quarters in my car, so parking became a chore. I had three 20 dollar bills in my wallet, and wasn't sure if those new multi-meters took credit cards (they do) or large bills, so I opted to look for free Visitor Parking. To my bad fortune, it was street cleaning day on most of the streets in the South End where I usually park, and being that it was 2:30 PM, I didn't want to ditch my car in any of the Noon-4 PM zones, risking a ticket. That made options far more limited. Eventually, I grabbed a spot near Tremont 647 and elected to walk. Sunny, brisk day. Why not?

Tom's website sent me to Karmaloop on Newbury St., a store that most certainly had nothing close to what I sought, quickly thwarting my plan.

I ended up at Starbucks, working on a project and heading back to Tom's website to see who else nearby carried their shoes. Another local option appears to be Berk's in Cambridge, but I have been advised by Mike that I'm no longer allowed to cross the river alone...so perhaps I'll find my way there this weekend.