This is not a political post.

Not that today wasn’t a notable day in politics, most so that the Army Corps of Engineers and President Obama have refused to issue a permit to build the Dakota Access Pipeline on tribal lands.  Good job!  Now, if they can move those awesome protesters to 1600 Penn and stop that Trump-shit from moving into the White House…

Sorry, Facebook followers, you had to see that material recycled.

Anyway, the DAPL defeat was a bright spot in a frustrating day.  Not that I want to admit that, I’m afraid it moves me closer to training my brain to think the job I love is frustrating…let’s say it was an overwhelming day at work.  I think people who have been there through the recent frustrating era – anywhere from 6 months to 3 years, depending on whom you ask…and I believe them all! – are starting to trust me to help them to a better work life.

But that comes with its own price:  everyone wants to talk to me about “the problem”.

The number of times I heard “We can’t do that” or “That won’t work” or “The problem is”…seriously, I heard that last one thirteen times today in just one conversation.  Pretty sure I missed a few of the early ones, too.  At least people are changing the way they express their frustrations, “We can’t do that” and “That won’t work” were most of what I heard last week.  I’ll take the change in expression as a positive sign that people are starting to identify the problem and that the next thought expressions or incarnation will be to present ideas that could be potential solutions!

Ok, I’m excited again.

Blogging is so therapeutic!

So is dancing.

Mind you, when I got home – after the Silver Fox left, he had to let me in since I left the house without my keys this morning – I suggested to Myrtle that we have a dance party.  She went and hid in her kitty tunnel.

Well, I never.

…should dance in public.

Everyone is a critic.

So, there I was, in my socks and ready to bust out some Risky Business moves – I was wearing pants – and Myrtle shut me down.

Clearly, the situation called for wine.

While I am sitting there, leaning against the counter, I see that my socks are off center?  Out of alignment?  What you have to understand about me is that when I dress, I may prefer jeans and a tee shirt, but if clothes are supposed to be worn a certain way, I endeavor to do so.  The other day at work, I missed a belt loop on my slacks and it bugged me all day.  Those particular pants have so damned many loops!  Missing one did not affect wear one iota, but each time I passed a men’s room, I considered ducking in to adjust my belt.  Too busy, though.

Anyway.  The socks.  I took a pic.

I felt I needed to leave that full sized so that you can really see how the grey on top rolled into the center of my stride as I walked my day away at work.  Only 6.7 miles, it was a light day compared to my normal 7-8 miles at work; but most of that was pushing, pulling or guiding a pallet jack or a rolling rack or a cart of merchandise for the 5 News and Gift shops I manage at Portland International Airport.

Obviously, I’m a crazy person.  Who notices that their socks rolled inward when they take off their shoes?  For one, me.  But if your feet felt like mine, you might notice, too.  This got me thinking back to an insane blog idea that I had over the summer while watching people walk by The Big Legrowlski as I sipped (gulped) a delightful beer with the Silver Fox on the sidewalk.

I have a fair amount of free time when I’m with the Fox while he does things that he doesn’t like me calling him out on in my blog.  But he knows.  Anyway, there I am, idly watching passersby and amusing myself with how differently people walk.

Gaits are a crazy thing.

Closely followed by posture, let me tell you.  Oh, and I can!  As a tall person, I’m a lifelong sympathetic sloucher…that’s done nothing for my posture, to be sure.

Which ought to explain the title of this blog post.  Pronation is the natural tendency of the foot to roll inward when you walk.  It’s also called eversion, but that’s a shitty blog title.

Of course, everything has its equal and opposite in our universe, so when I’m watching people walking by – and I’m still attenuated to this, months later – I’m also seeing people walking on the outside edge of their foot.

Supination.

There’s also the pigeon toed walkers.

Folks with the splayed gait, toes drastically pointed away from center.  Truth be told, people who walk like this always bugged me the most.  In my observation, these pedestrians also tend to be the ones who walk with their shoulders shifted back behind their hips.  It’s a mess to witness.  But that whole shoulder following the hips saunter just always seems slow.

And I walk fast, baby.  I used to tell my employees that keeping up with me was on their reviews.

Because, I’m kinda passive-aggressive.  Kind of a dick.  Whatever, I got shit to do.  Keep up or get out.  I set the pace in my stores…and that whole saunter I described above just has this inescapable stoner vibe to it.

Not to say that all shoulders trailing walkers are stoners.  Just like all shoulders back walkers aren’t splay footed.  That’s how crazy I am.  I gave this topic that much thought.  And still do, I watch people walk around at work all day long.  But travelers get their own special designations, it’s a list I’m still compiling, but if you read me often then you’ve already heard me talk about the people I call “icebergs”.  I’m thinking about tweaking that designation to “glaciers”, but that feels so Miranda Priestly.

I guess the good news here – if there has to be just one highlight – is that the Fox did eventually finish his texting…oops.  I did it again.  But then we got to finish our beer and carry on our chatting.  Just two old dudes, hanging out on the urban porch.

Oooh, that’s a good name for a neighborhood bar.  Must remember.