Shoes R $8.88

A couple of months ago, my mom told me that she had gone to a store in my hometown called Shoes R $8.88 and had discovered that my junior high boyfriend was the manager there. Our relationship was short-lived, as most relationships between 13-year-olds are, but included such memorable moments, like our English class's production of Romeo and Juliet, in which we were the title characters. There's nothing quite as romantic having your first kiss in a school hallway while ostensibly "practicing" for the hands-down worst Shakespeare performance of all time. And I do mean the very worst - among many mishaps, Romeo forgot his entire suicide monologue, simply saying, "I die," and lay down on the floor like a person getting into bed instead of dying of self-poisoning. Everyone told me I stole the show, but I think that was a nice way of saying that I was the least awful. After all, I memorized my lines, which couldn't be said for poor Romeo.

So when Cary and I went to visit my parents last weekend, I knew I needed to go to Shoes R $8.88 and see what ol' Romeo was up to. So Mama and I went, and there was Romeo, managing away. He even greeted me by saying, "But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" which was very impressive considering how many lines he forgot on the night of the actual performance 14 years ago. We chatted for a few minutes and he seemed to be doing well, thinking about going back to school in a variety of fields. And then I felt obligated to buy some shoes (I know, twist my arm), so Mama and I scoured the selection of $8.88 shoes and came up with these green sandals. I really like the color, and if they fall apart in three months, they were only $8.88. And I got to revisit my star turn as a Shakespearean heroine, which for me, was worth at least $8.88. I'm sure Shakespeare would agree.