In real life, I’m not a photographer. I don’t travel
as much as I
should, and I take the same route to work nearly everyday. Once I
began searching for lost shoes, I started to see my world a little
differently. Since I never knew when or where I might come across a
lost shoe, everyday errands became journeys in and of themselves, and
my once mundane commute, an adventure that I got to take twice each
and every day. I learned that my same old work route wasn’t the same
at all - it changed all the time. The dirt and leaves in the gutter,
the shards of broken glass and bits of rubber on the center divide,
the cigarettes, the twine, the newspaper, the toy, the shoe – they
come and go, and now I notice.
I suppose everyone is searching for something - something that will
make them drop whatever it is they are doing whenever it comes along.
I know it may sound strange, but for me, it’s a lost shoe. I don’t
know why finding a lost shoe is so intriguing – more than the toys,
the books, the shirts, the tools. Maybe because it reminds us of our
own loneliness – of somehow being abandoned and becoming lost in
plain sight. Maybe because it’s just hard to imagine how someone
wouldn’t notice that they are missing just one shoe. Whatever the
reason may be, I know that each time I find a lost shoe it’s like
discovering a mysterious secret that lots of people might see, but
only I notice.
Have you found a lost shoe? Send me a picture and tell me your story...