I could not prove the Years had feet—

Yet confident they run

Am I, from symptoms that are past

And Series that are done—

I find my feet have further Goals—

I smile upon the Aims

That felt so ample—Yesterday—

Today's—have vaster claims—

I do not doubt the self I was

Was competent to me—

But something awkward in the fit—

Proves that—outgrown—I see—

Emily Dickinson

My grandmother (Abue) raised me with aphorisms and advice from the Don Quixote. There were two that I remember that involved feet. One was:

Se me cae el alma a los pies.

Or my soul falls to my feet.

This was about total depression and disappointment. But there was another less so:

Se le pasea el alma por los pies.

This had to do with one’s soul having a day of leisure in one’s feet. This was about postponing stuff and doing nothing.

Feet are in my mind these days as soon in mid-September my Rosemary and I will be going to Buenos Aires to attend the wedding of niece, Milagros O’Reilly. She is getting married in a beautiful church almost around the corner from our downtown Hotel Claridge. But was is very exciting is that the reception is going to be in the ultra-baroque 30s palace, el Círculo Militar. It is my guess that when the Argentine Army had power (this was through most of the 20^th century) they probably planned their coups and uprisings in that lap of luxury.

What that means to us is that we have to dress most elegantly.  We have found a couple of dresses for Rosemary. I have one, dark wool, Bill Blass suit that somehow the Athlone silverfish did not like as it has no holes. I went to a good Kerrisdale taylor to shorten sleeves, narrow the shoulders, shorten the pants (have I been shrinking?). The repairs will cost a fortune but buying a new suit would make this 77 year-old man look like a wannabe in slim fitted pants, etc.

In order to correctly judge the length of the pants I took my black, leather brogues which I purchased in Sears Roebuck in Mexico City in 1972. When I put them on I told Rosemary, “These are really comfortable and the fit me well.” To which she countered with, “Normally people walk with leather shoes.” The reason for her sarcasm is that I have been wearing plastic/rubber Native Shoes for the last five years.

All shoes have always fit me as I have a poor man’s feet and body. I can buy suits that fit well and the same with shoes. I not only inherited my mother’s lovely legs but also her perfect swimmer’s feet. I am not the best of swimmers but my feet have no creases, no corns. My toes are straight. They are truly lovely feet!