Shoes by the Side of the Road

It happened again, and I am certain this won’t be the last time.

While riding my motorcycle on one of the many bridges that cross the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, I saw a lone shoe on the side of the freeway up against the bridge wall.

Now I don’t know about you, but that is a sight that has always puzzled me—a lone shoe by the side of the road.

How does that happen? Do kids throw a shoe out the window when parents aren't looking?

Why must I blame it on children?

Do adults perhaps throw them out? Maybe a couple is having a fight in the car, and to get even one of them throws a shoe out the window and then tells the other person that as soon as they get to a place safe enough to stop, that person has to get out and walk home with one shoe off and one shoe on. Isn’t that part of a nursery rhyme? "Diddle, Diddle Dumpling."

But that doesn’t make sense either. How does the one person get access to the other person’s shoe so as to be able to throw it out the window?

Do we see shoes alongside the road more often than we see other stuff because shoes are more recognizable or catch our attention? I can understand hats, but a lone shoe?!?

Maybe birds steal them from back or front yards or the park or the beach and then can fly only so far without getting so tired they have to drop them. Birds do fly over roads and freeways, don’t they? And who knows how many of these bird-dropped shoes might be lying around in fields or pastures or even rooftops.

There is one other idea I have pondered. It could be that from time to time the Rapture occurs—but only for select individuals—and that being the case, they are lifted up to the heavens so suddenly and rapidly one of their shoes falls off. But that would not necessarily explain how it got left along the side of the road.

Have you ever thrown a shoe out the car window? Have you ever had shoes mysteriously sucked out of your vehicle while driving?

I was wondering, has anyone ever driven all over the country looking for shoes by the side of the road and photographing them?

Hmm, that sounds like my next road trip, maybe.

Until next time,
Ingrid

Ingrid Kincaid is an internationally known storyteller, teacher and spiritual mentor. She is an intuitive reader of ancient runes. She gently shows her clients how to tap into their own inner wisdom by weaving together creativity, spirituality and ancient knowing. Ingrid is available for interviews, private consultations and group presentations. You can contact her at ingk@ingridkincaid.com or 415.652.3990.