In journalism classes, we learned there are very rare occasions when you can start a story with a quote. I do not remember any guidance on starting with a picture, but in all fairness, that was long before the explosion of the blogosphere.

The picture is of one of the shoes I wore to work last night. That might not seem that consequential in itself, but they may be the oldest shoes in my vast footwear collection.

Back in roughly 2000, every male I knew had a pair of shoes like these — some sort of dull brown leather with black soles. They said, “Hey, I’m a little nicer than running shoes, but I’m also no dress shoe.” Apparently that was the message to send with your footwear at the time.

I got mine at Galyan’s, where I worked in the shoe department. With the Timberlands being on sale and an employee discount at my disposal, this has to be the best value in my collection as well. I don’t think I paid more than $30, and we are at 10 years and counting.

I remember at first being concerned about the little scuffs that developed on the front of the shoes. But then I realized I’m clumsy and accepted the scuffs as a fact of my footwear life.