Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

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I am a walker. I walk nearly everywhere. I would much rather walk a couple miles and see all the sites between me and my destination than catch a cab. I like the details; the types of flowers that grow in a window sill and what games the kids play in the streets.
My favorite shoes are these Keen Madrid Ballerina's. They are ultra comfortable, easy to slip on and off in security lines, and have been around the world with me; quite literally.
The only time I found them to be lacking was when I walked through multi-colored sand in the desert in Sharjah. The shoes filled up with sand and stayed on the dunes rather than travelling with my feet! They did not prevent me from summiting a dune to see the pink sun slip through the hazy sky for the evening. In this case, I sunk my bare toes into the slope of fleeting ground beneath my body weight and climbed to the top of the red ridge where our tour group had gathered.
Before I sound like an advertisement for a pair of shoes that are no longer on the market, I will simply say that these shoes have been a blessing to me. I am thankful for my shoes but even more grateful for the feet inside of them. They have carried me many miles and allowed me to see the beautiful and provocative things in life that fill the drawers of my mind.

 My address is like my shoes. It travels with me.
- Mary H. Jones

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