| A unique leg configuration |
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She was strolling along under the awnings stopping to look in store windows. She was about 5' 4" tall and trim in a dress that reached to her knee (and wore a summer straw hat). I guessed her age at 35. She walked smoothly with one underarm crutch. Both of her shoes had odd-looking heels. They were 3-4 inches tall but were also thick, more than one inch wide.
The left one squarely met the ground. The right dangled 8 inches above the sidewalk. The strange shoe on her short leg pointed straight down so that the prominent heel was parallel to the ground. I followed her for a block as she worked her way gracefully down the street. She agiley stepped off the curb onto her crutch as she went across the street. The shoe on the short leg looked weird swaying at its strange angle and I wondered why she wore a matching heel on a shoe that had no possibility of touching the ground. Perhaps when she sat the short leg was more comfortable with an equal heel. I have no idea why she couldn't or wouldn't use a builtup shoe or brace. Her shoes looked custom made and she was well dressed, so she probably could have afforded an alternative to the crutch if her short leg was functional. She obviously had plenty of years of experience to develop the smooth crutch gait. The part of her short leg that was visible seemed allright. She was attractive and I longed to ask her all those questions but did not have the courage to approach her. I simply watched as she walked out of my life with her unique leg configuration. |