These Shoes Were Made for Walking
Lower back pain prompted me to switch from running to walking in my early 60s. I immediately realized that I needed different shoes; your foot hits the ground differently when you walk than when you run. I went to the local sporting goods store and asked to see their walking shoes. The polite young associate pointed me towards shoes that would have perfectly suited an elderly gentleman slowly shuffling through the park but weren’t what I had in mind.
I did some research, and over the past few years have tried a few different styles and brands. I think the best of the lot is the Brooks Addiction (though I can’t imagine what the branding experts were thinking about when they came up with that name). When I opened the box, I feared that I had inadvertently ordered elderly-gentleman-out-for-a-stroll shoes – the relatively inflexible soles are thick and wide, as if designed to keep you from tipping over in a strong breeze. They’re good shoes, though; I just ordered my second pair.
- Jack Jr.
Yoshikawa’s Musashi
A few month’s ago I wrote in another Good Stuff post about the novel Shogun. As much as I enjoy that book, it cannot compare with Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi. Miyamoto Musashi was one of Japan’s greatest samurai and Yoshikawa’s novel is a fictitious account of his life that begins with his childhood and ends with his most famous duel.
Shogun is a fun book, but Clavell was not Japanese; Musashi is a truly Japanese book in ways that I love. I’m not quite sure how to explain what I mean, you just have to read it. I genuinely view Musashi as a book that every man should read, especially young men. It deals with discipline, focus, and the meaning of pursuing excellence in everything. Here is one of my favorite lines from the book, before the above-mentioned final duel:
“It’ll be a test of strength between a man who’s a genius, but really somewhat conceited, and an ordinary man who’s polished his talents to the utmost.”
“I wouldn’t call Musashi ordinary.”
“But he is. That’s what’s extraordinary about him. He’s not content with relying on whatever natural gifts he may have. Knowing he’s ordinary, he’s always trying to improve himself. No one appreciates the agonizing effort he’s had to make. Now that his years of training have yielded such spectacular results, everybody’s talking about his ‘god-given talent.’ That’s how men who don’t try very hard comfort themselves.”
- Jack III
In 2019 I had knee replacement surgery on my right knee and my left foot rebuilt. In rehab I asked the physical therapist to recommend a shoe and she recommended the Brooks “Beast.” She added that once I was released from therapy any Brooks model will work. I recently purchased the Divide, my 7th pair of Brooks.
Interestingly, I’m noticing more people sporting Brooks.
Enjoyed the comments on the shoes. I, too, started wearing Brooks. Mine are Adrenaline and have been wearing them for almost 10 years (I'm a lot older than you, haha). Would wear nothing else!