Day 33: New Shoes and Lost Shoes

The Fool got up and walked down the steep winding hill into the soft center of Morgantown, WV -- home of WVU's Mountaineers, Don Knotts, and every homeless man in the state. The Fool was repeatedly warned of the onerous street dwellers in the area... or he was mistaken for being one of them (his beard is getting long and his clothes are getting ratty). Some long haired dude kept on trying to get the Fool to come to his church for free food and shelter.

The Fool went to a local camping gear shop and bought a new tent that will hopefully keep out the rain a little better. He also bought some new shoes. After leaving the store, the fool had 2 tents and 3 pairs of shoes. He obviously had to discard some items. He left a tent by a bridge (which hopefully could be taken and used by some passing homeless fellow), but hadn't decided whether to get rid of his Nike sneakers or his Merrell hiking shoes.

The Walking Fool crossed Don Knotts Blvd. and got on a local rail trail that will take him to the next town of Fairmont, about 21 miles down the Monongahela River. A couple miles down the trail, the Fool decided to ditch the hiking shoes. He set the Merrells on the trail by a small waterfall and took off down the trail in his new shoes.

About 2 miles later, the new shoes started bothering the Fool's feet. They felt a little tight. Figuring they needed to be broken in a bit, the fool switched to his worn-in Nikes. But they weren't as comfy as the fool thought they'd be. Then he remembered -- the last week and a half, he's been wearing the Merrell hiking shoes almost exclusively. As he walked south mile by mile, the fool started regretting his choice of footwear to discard. Those Merrells got him through the mountainous West Virginia, and how does he pay them back? By tossing them to the wayside for some wandering bum to take. It soon became as tragic (in the fool's mind) as when Tom Hanks lost Wilson, the volley ball, in the movie "Cast Away." But now, the fool was five miles away from his beloved footwear. As he awkwardly set up his new tent, a near-teary-eyed fool came up with the only solution: Run back and get his shoes!!!