Forgive me, sisters, for I have sinned.

I have a confession to make: Although I work for the world’s foremost shoeblogger, I cannot, myself, be said to be much of a shoe fetishist. Of the many tiresome characteristics displayed by those four airheaded meat puppets on Sex and the City, the extravagantly overdone shoe worship was perhaps the most tiresome of all as far as I was concerned (and that is a crowded field, my friends). Art is art, even when you wear it on your feet, but please! Even Picasso knew when to lay off. The only thing more boring than competitive, fad-driven shoe fetishism is handbag fetishism, and thankfully that appears to have become so expensive as to now be nothing but a self-referential joke between Prada, Louis Vuitton, Hermes, and Balenciaga. And if so, more power to them: Kimora Lee Simmons doesn’t need all that money anyway.

In any case, I have to say that when it comes to shoes worthy of worship, the kids have it all over the adults. First of all, you can generally walk in shoes designed for kids. Secondly, the styles can be more creative, because they don’t have to be so reactive to market forces (is it a four inch stiletto this year or a two inch kitten heel?). I mean, take a look at some of these fabulous sneaks and tell me those aren’t just intrinsically wicked cool.

The Diadora Kids
Victor Plus Jr MD

Light as a pair of winged sandals, eye-catching, vegetarian-safe (although what kind of sauce you’d serve them with I have no idea) and best of all, $34. Some more snazzy soccer shoes:

adidas Kids
F30.8 TRX FG J

Although saddled with a name that belongs more to a fighter jet than a pair of shoes, these are still the kind of futuristic style that we had back when we thought the future was going to be really cool. Remember that? Also: $61, or half the price of a similar pair of adult shoes.

And lastly, these, for which I salivate and which have the added example of being unmissable on the field. When my sister and I went swimming, my mother would adorn us with the loudest, ugliest bathing caps she could find (think rhinestone-studded floral monstrosities in puce and mustard). These are a more aesthetically pleasing iteration of the same principle:

Puma Kids
v5.08 I FG Jr

The other day I read a quote from Matthew Broderick about his son with wife Sarah Jessica Paker, James Wilkie.  James, he said, was a big Barack Obama fan.

And hey, that’s fine.

But, James Wilkie is a few months younger than my own son, and yet he has an opinion about a presidential candidate?  And not even one who has clinched his party’s nomination?  It sounds to me like someone is picking up on some dinner conversation.

I think it is imperative that parents be politically active and aware.  That they vote.  That they take their kids with them when they vote.  In fact, I would say that if you don’t do these things, then you are short-changing your child out of a valuable education.

However, I have purposely not spoken to my son about any of the presidential election goings-on because I think it is still a wee bit too complicated.  He knows that we have a president and a (supposedly) representative government.  He knows about laws to protect people and animals and property, and I figure that since I have shown him “I’m Just a Bill” on YouTube, he is way ahead of the average American in terms of knowledge of the political process.

But super-delegates, gas tax cuts, healthcare reform, education reform, the historical candidacies of the two Democrats, I think that there is time enough for all that.  Let my five year old cut open a box and pretend it’s a boat, not worry if the Republican candidate is too old. 

Besides, I think if you asked the Munchkin who should be president, I’m afraid he would wholeheartedly cast his vote for Scooby-Doo.

Hmmm, maybe he’s got something there.

(And, apologies to all who suffered through the technical problems! It’s all better now!)