Shoe Shopping, a Scourge?

"Oh the Screaming"
So, I went shoppng for shoes yesterday. What an adventure! All four kids went with me. While I tried on shoes and debated things at two different stores, B and J had a rousing game of tag. So if you heard children shrieking, I apologize, those were mine.

"Down to Business at Store #1"
The first store (Payless in Clovis, NM) I went to, the salespersons were incredibly inept. Neither knew the difference between a walking and a running shoe. In fact, they tried to sell me on the 'toner' shoes, you know, the ones with a raised ball on the heel? Yeah, not a good running shoe. The sum total of my knowledge of shoes dates back 6 years when I worked in the shoe department of JCPenney. About all I remember is that a good running shoe must have lots of bend in the sole, and the heel should taper/roll a little. They had a few shoes like this, so I began the arduous task of finding a shoe in my size. What an exercise in futility. I wear between a 9.5 to an 11, in women's. Of the brands store #1 had to offer, I appaently needed the non-existent size 10.5. I browsed through the men's selection, which wasn't much better. And as an aside, the girls were in need of new church shoes. How can a place call itself a shoe store and not carry little girl's white or black Mary Janes? But I digress.

"The Search Continues at Store #2"
And so we made our way to option number two, the Big W, which is hardly a shoe store, but it does boast a shoe section (which did carry little girls Mary Janes, by the way). After an hour of searching every athletic shoe in the men's and women's section, I settled on a cheap pair of Danskin runner's. While not what I wanted, they will work for now until I can get to a real store. Perhaps some Reeboks Reeflex or some Nike cross trainers or maybe Asics?