My First Love

As a kid, there wasn't a better feeling than when my mom would take me to a shoe store to get a fresh new pair of sneakers. Kids, (especially boys) would run and play all day long. And as a result, sometimes I would ruin pair after pair of sneakers. So when I would go with my mom sneaker shopping, it was kinda like a new lease on life.
At the same time, it was bittersweet. Because of my propensity to ruin everything on the playground, my mom wouldn't necessarily buy me the latest and greatest. I'd usually have one "nice" pair of kicks....and one, you could call, low-budget pair. Never was my mom going to shell out big bucks for Jordans or Air Max. My mom tells this story that once I asked her to buy me a pair of Air Jordans and she told me to write Michael Jordan a letter and ask him to send me a pair. She would tell this story EVERY TIME she got a chance: At family gatherings, amongst her friends..etc. She made it seem that I asked this of her all the time and I begged and pleaded my case for a pair. Its great for storytelling but it wasn't true. I just made the one inquiry and left it alone as I figured early on it was a losing battle.

    As I got little older and and started to work and make my OWN money, there was no stopping me. I would cash my check and head straight to the sneaker store. I'd spend half a day, it seemed, looking over rack after rack. I'd try on dozens of pairs looking for the right fit, the right feel. After awhile, it would consume me. I became a sneaker-head. Jordans, Harlems, you name it. My favorite pair of all time were the Nike air Force Max worn by the Michigan Fab Five ~~~~~>

     My mom, depriving me of the best of the best sorta created a monster. Because now, finding the perfect pair of kicks became my life. My passion. To me, there is nothing better than trying on a fresh pair of Nikes. To this day I still feel it gives me a new lease on life......