The secret knowledge of the power of red leather...

I have a thing for red leather shoes.If anything can bring me to a screeching halt in a store, it is the sight of shoes in red leather.When I was a little girl, my Mother made certain that I got a new pair of them every year in November - just in time for the Christmas season. We would go down to Main St. and search until we found just the right ones. I loved them all, but a particular pair stands out in my mind. It must have been the Christmas I was 12, because that was the year my Mom let me start wearing a shoe with a little heel...The 70's were just getting revved up, and groovy was in. My Mother was clucking and tutting the lack of "suitable shoes for a decent young lady", and we were just about to give up on the search when we spotted them....red crinkled leather - a little shiny, but not quite patent leather - not flat, with just the right amount of heel, and best of all, they sported a big red sassy bow. Now, to my way of thinking, if anything can improve upon red leather shoes, it is a big red bow. How I loved those shoes - I crammed my feet into them long after I had outgrown them, unable to give them up. I can still remember the feel of those shoes - how slipping them on seemed to put a zing in my step, causing me to prance rather than walk. It was as if they possessed their own red leather magic charge. It has been an eternity since I owned a pair of red leather shoes - these days I am more about function than form (hence the Crocs - although they ARE red....). Today I dragged my carcass to Target in the rain, despite my hacking cough and dripping nose (yes, I finally gave in to the cold that has been threatening me for days). I am encouraged to know that my overall health appears better than I feared, because I did not suffer apoplexy upon seeing the Fifty Dollar Neiman Marcus Christmas Ornaments as I entered the store (FIFTY DOLLARS?! Who pays Fifty Dollars for Christmas Balls for heavens sake.....don't even get me started!). Neither did I keel over when I saw that Cough Syrup has gone up to ten dollars a bottle (When the heck did THAT happen?! And, may I add that it has not helped one iota, which would explain why I am sitting in front of the computer at 3:00a.m.). I meandered a little bit on my way to the check out - looking at this...looking at that, when the heavens opened, and the angels sang....for there, right in front of me, was a pair of red leather gloves - with kissy little red bows at the wrists. Unable to resist, I put my germ infested hand right into those babies, and sure enough - I felt the tingle of red leather...so... it is not exclusive to shoes - it must be in the leather itself! My old wrinkled hands were transformed in a twinkling - they felt alive and pretty.....and young. It was with great effort that I removed the buttery leather, and hung those beautiful things back on the display...like the Neiman Marcus ornaments, they were priced outside the realm of my pocketbook (Unlike the Neiman Marcus ornaments, they were worth every penny!). I made my way to the checkout line, a smile on my lips - the memory of red shoes of Christmases past prancing about in my head. Lost in thought, I didn't really take note of my surroundings as I waited...until I was brought out of my reverie by a tiny blond head bobbing up and down in front of my buggy. There she was - in all her glory - a little girl of about five - unable to stand still, she was dancing in place and as I looked down, I saw the cause. There, on her baby feet, were the most remarkable pair of red leather boots....complete with a bow at the top. Unable to resist the electric charge of red leather, her feet danced in time to the music in her heart. "Those are the best.boots. EVER", I said to her, as she looked up at me. "Yep", she said,not missing a beat - a smile on her face - the secret knowledge of the power of the red leather shining through her eyes. As her Mother finished paying and they walked away, she turned to me and said "Merry Christmas!"....."Merry Christmas to you too", I said...happy that I have not forgotten what it felt like....to be a child possessed with the magic of  Christmas shoes....I left the store, coughing up a lung, but with a spring to my step...fueled by the memory of the power of red leather.