Green Shoes

I often wonder what secrets people choose to fortify behind the high walls of insecurity. People keep so many of their scars and ambitions in time capsules buried far below conscious thought or average conversations. But sometimes there are cracks. And little blips leak out of these defenses. Every so often you can peer inside and see what makes some one's heart run even when the rest of the body is so ready to fall on its face and quit.

I got a glimpse of one today. I was sitting in one of my classes this afternoon preparing to listen to my teacher talk about destroying art as a form of catharsis and release from the world. I was doing my best to get into a scholarly mindset because it takes a fair amount of concentration for me to stay involved in the class. Then, I looked down and saw my teacher's shoes: a pair of emerald green Vans slip-ons. I must explain that this professor is nothing less than, well, professional. He wears a sharp suit and is succinct in everything he says.

So I lost all foundation of concentration and scanned through all my potential thoughts as to why this learned gentlemen would have such a wickedly awesome display of youth and vitality. Was it some playful affinity for the children's book The Leaf Men, or perhaps it was that he could regress back to his first love whose eyes were a glimmering green sitting on the dock late into a summer night. Whatever the reason for this unpredictable display of character may be, I was able to see into the crack in the walls of his academic exterior.

I wonder if this happens often. If it's some divine way of briefly intriguing people into creating fellowship with others just to see what else is trapped behind the tall unscalable bricks of social defense mechanisms. Maybe someone looks at me and wonders if I bite my nails due to some seriously traumatic childhood event. Who knows? But I'll continue to search for these cracks. And maybe I'll get my own pair of green slip-ons...