Melissa pulled her blonde hair into a hairclip, changed into a pair of white cropped pants and a pink and white striped crew top. She completed her outfit by slipping her feet into a pair of pink mule flats
Melissa grabbed her purse and car keys and slapped along merrily in her floppy mules. Her mules were quite loose and flopped with every step. Only the fact she wore them barefoot gave her enough friction to keep them on. Even so, Melissa unconsciously exerted just enough forward momentum while walking to keep them on. To her, the shoes' looseness gave her a feeling of femininity. As a side benefit, she loved the ease at which she could slip them off an any time.
Once at the shopping center, she made her was around a few stores and purchased a couple of bright new outfits. She ignored the building storm clouds that were forming overhead as she moved between stores. While stopped at a display window looking an outfit on a mannequin, she slipped one foot out of a mule, pressed her toes down on the back of the sole and repeatedly lifted and dropped her shoe to the tile floor, creating a loud noise. A young teenager, who had recognized her, approached her.
"Excuse me ma'am?"
Melissa quickly and clumsily slipped her foot back in her mule which she had accidentally knocked a few inches away and looked at the boy.
"Are you Melissa from Channel 2? Didn't you speak to my English class at JFK Middle?"
Seeing her put her foot back in her shoe reminded him that she had been a shoe dangler while speaking to them from the stool. "My name's Russell, and I just wanted to say that I'm a fan of yours and I watch you every morning while getting ready for school."
"I appreciate that very much, Russell."
This was not the first time that Melissa had been stopped out in public and recognized. Sometimes, it was a bother and a hindrance, but usually, like this time it was flattering. Of course being well-liked helped her job security in a ratings-driven television news market.
Seeing a student from JFK made her think about Mark, the school's principal, where she had given the talk. She had been on a few dates with him, but she felt like she had not been assertive enough, but had been waiting on him to make all the moves. She decided to take a chance and call him on her cell. After a little bit of small talk, she got right to the point. "Mark, I'm out at the mall and I have one more store to browse. Would you like to meet at Wendy's and grab a hamburger in about an hour and talk?"
Mark was taken back, but pleasantly surprised. "Sounds great! I'll see you there. I assume the one about a mile down Main Street from the mall."
"That's the one!" Melissa put the cell phone back in her purse and proceeded to Macy's. She found one more new outfit then moved over to the shoe department. Several times, she found a shoe she liked, quickly slipped off one of her mules and tried it on. In each case, she could not settle on a pair she wanted to buy. Then, looking at her watch, she noticed she needed to leave immediately to be on time to meet Mark. Therefore, Melissa made her way to the exit.
Melissa looked outside and saw that it had come a full-blown thunderstorm. Water was ponding in some parts of the parking lot and flowing quickly on others. After watching it rain for a couple of minutes with no let-up, she decided to make a run for it. First, she pulled out her small, fold-up umbrella out of her purse and got it in position. She got her car door key in position and, with the same hand, gripped the handle on her shopping bags and prepared to enter the storm. Just before she stepped off the sidewalk, she looked down and decided that she might be slowed down unless she pulled off her loose mules.
Temporarily holding her umbrella with her other hand, she slipped off her mules and reached down to grab them, before returning her umbrella to the same hand. Melissa stepped off and ran toward the car. About halfway there there was a bright lightning flash and then a quickly-following clap of thunder. The light and noise startled her and the grip on her shoes loosened, without her realizing it, and one of her mules fell to the parking lot and began to float downhill, away from the direction she was going.
Melissa reached her car and opened the door. In one sweeping motion, she stuffed the contents of each hand into the back seat and jumped in the driver's seat. Being used to driving barefoot, it was no big deal to start the engine and leave in the direction of where she was meeting Mark for lunch. At each subsequent red light, she touched up her hair and makeup in preparation for her lunch. Just before reaching the restaurant, the rain stopped, making her very happy. Once in the parking lot, she spied a parking spot next to the building, she could see Mark sitting inside and vide-versa. He waved in acknowledge and Melissa waved back.
Once outside, she folded down the seat and reached for her shoes. She located one immediately and put it on, allowing her to balance on one shod foot and not touch the parking lot any longer. Mark was paying full attention to the cute show being put on immediately outside.
Melissa moved her shopping bags and her umbrella off the floor and no shoe was to be seen. This was quite puzzling. She looked under both front seats - still nothing. Then she looked through her bags and the shoe was not there either. Melissa then looked around in the front seat on both sides to no avail. She was beginning to get a little worried.
Mark was wondering what was taking so long so he came outside to find Melissa totally frustrated. He approached her and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I can't find my stupid shoe. It was raining when I left Macy's and I carried my shoes while I ran in the storm to the car. I threw everything in the back seat and I only found one.
"Is it possible you dropped one out in the parking lot?"
Amazingly, this possibility had not crossed her mind. "I don't know. Everything happened so fast."
"Let's go and look around." Mark and Melissa, still wearing just the one shoe, got in his car and hurried back to the shopping center. Mark looked over and noticed that Melissa had tucked her bare foot behind the one still bearing a shoe. It seemed to be her futile attempt to hide her predicament or maybe her foot was just a bit cool.
Meanwhile, Russell, the young teenager who had spoken briefly with Melissa, walked outside to wait on his mother to pick him up. Looking across to the parking lot, something bright pink caught his eye. it looked out of place, resting against the storm drain so he walked out to take a look. It was a shoe - a pink flat-heeled mule. His first reaction was to shrug it off and return to the sidewalk and wait for his mom, but then he remembered what had happened inside the mall. He remembered seeing Melissa from Channel 2 playing with the very same shoe. "Could she have lost her shoe in the parking lot somehow?" He thought, then picked up the shoe and tucked it safely away in his jacket pocket. "Maybe I can return it to her somehow," he thought. Shortly afterwards, Russell's mother arrived to pick up Russell and they began to drive home.
Melissa located the entrance to Macy's and remembered the general direction of the route she ran to her car. "Over there, that's where I was parked." Soon Mark had parked the car and the two of them began to look all around the area between the sidewalk and where she was parked. Mark noticed that the parking lot sloped slightly downhill toward Macy's and that a large drain was located at the edge of the parking area and adjacent to the driveway that separated it from the sidewalk.
Mark pointed to the drain, "I hope it did not end up down there."
Melissa looked at the drain and was beginning to think that her shoe might have gone down there after all.
Mark continued, "Do you want to ask Macy's if someone found your shoe and took it inside?"
Melissa agreed that was a good idea and they walked their way into Macy's. Melissa was embarrassed to be slapping around in just one mule, as she approached the cashier station very near the entrance. "Excuse me, did anyone find a lost shoe out in the parking lot and turn it in?"
The cashier had a strange look on her face as if she had never heard that question before. "No, sorry I haven't. In case somebody comes by later, what does it look like?"
Melissa lifted up her foot and leaned over to pull it off and show the lonely punk mule to the cashier. "Okay, if you leave me your phone number I'll call you if it turns up. Did you lose it somewhere in the store?"
The cashier returned the shoe and Melissa slipped it back on her foot. "No, actually I was in here a little while ago and when I was leaving we were in the middle of a thunderstorm. I took my shoes off to run in the rain and I must have dropped one in the parking lot. We looked and did not see it. Thanks for your help."
Melissa and Mark walked outside to the car and drove back to Wendy's. Upon their arrival, Mark asked, "Do you still want to eat lunch?"
After a moment's thought Melissa replied, "Sure, why not. I've already been seen by a lot of people wearing one shoe. What's a few more? Besides I have some interesting news to tell you." Melissa and Mark stood in line and ordered their food. Melissa dipped and played with her single shoe the entire time. A few people noticed her single-shod state and looked around to see if she had simply knocked her other shoe away somehow. They were left to ponder why she was wearing only one pink mule and why she was acting as if nothing was wrong.
Melissa and Mark got better acquainted over lunch. She spent much of their lunchtime with her one shoe kicked off. But occasionally, she played with it and spun it around under her chair. She began to tell Mark her news, "I know that as the school principal, you need to stay neutral on this issue, but I did some more investigating about the backless shoe ban at the school system."
"Oh, are you still pursuing that story?"
"Yes, and it's getting very interesting. I called several insurance companies, including the one who does all the insurance for our city schools, and no one has a safety clause requiring a backless shoe ban. In fact, there has never been a negligence claim concerning anyone having an accident on school grounds wearing backless shoes."
"Okay, but could it possibly be just a precaution?"
"Maybe, but then I began to talk to some of the students at your school and a couple of the other middle schools. Everyone thinks it is just a power play with no justification. The girls complain that they have a real problem finding cute shoes that are in style and not backless. Some have been sent home to change shoes and a couple of repeat offenders have been suspended for a day or two. It just seems like everyone is too concerned about shoes and not focusing on educating the kids."
"Well, now what happens?"
"Some of the students and parents have organized an effort to have the ban overturned. I'm going to do a story that will air on the evening news Monday night. Then Tuesday, I'm going to go with them to the School Board meeting and cover what happens. I've been told that Mrs. Gray, from your school, is going to be the voice for the opposition."
"Who is the opposition?"
"Not much, she has a few teachers for other schools on her side, but I don't know if they have anything of substance to make their case."
"I really shouldn't say anything because you're my friend and Mrs. Gray is one of my staff. I will trust the School Board to make an intelligent decision."
When they were finished eating, Melissa slapped merrily out of the restaurant and into her car to drive home and try to forget the storm and her lost shoe mishap. Once inside, she tossed the lonely shoe in the back of her closet. She was looking forward to the school board meeting Tuesday night when hopefully, the backless shoe ban would be lifted.
After Russell and his mom got home and went inside, he pulled out the shoe and showed it to his Mom.
"Russell Gray! What are you doing with that!"
"I found it in the parking lot..."
Russell's Mom, Mrs. Gray, interrupted, "You can't do that. The lady who lost it might come back to look for it."
"I never thought about that, but I know whose shoe it is."
"Did you see her lose it? How do you know?"
"Remember that newslady who visited our class, Melissa from Channel 2..."
Mrs. Gray's countenance changed dramatically after hearing the name of the person mounting the opposition to the backless shoe ban. "Yes, sure I remember her."
"I saw her looking in a store window in the mall and I spoke her. She was very nice. She was making a lot of noise, though, playing with her shoe. I noticed she was wearing a pink slip-on shoe because she was making so much noise with it. I'm sure this is the same shoe."
Mrs. Gray came up with a sly plan. "I'll make sure Melissa gets her shoe back. I think she's going to be at the School Board meeting Tuesday night. I'll give it to her then."
Russell was unaware of the behind the scenes politicking that was going on with the backless shoe ban issue. "Sounds great, Mom!"
Tuesday night came and Melissa got ready for her showdown. She wore a blue business suit and a pair of 4-inch heel black mules. Outside the school board chambers, she met up with 8 or 9 middle school girls, all wearing typical middle school fashion. (The parents who were there in support had already arrived and were seated.) Each of them wore some type of backless shoe - clogs, mules, slides and thong sandals of varying heel heights. Melissa was part of the media; therefore all of the persuasive presentation to the school board was to be done by the kids and parents. They wanted to illustrate to the members of the school board and the public in the room how normal it seemed to pair their school clothes with backless shoes.
A little before 6:30PM, Melissa and the girls walked into the room together making a lot of noise from the randomly scattered shoe-foot slaps all of them created as they walked. They sat together and patiently waited over an hour for their item to come up on the agenda. Most of them jovially played with their shoes throughout, not for a moment giving any thought to what they were doing. it was simply a fun and playful by-product of wearing a fun and playful shoe.
Finally, it was their time on the agenda and in turn, several of the girls and parents told their side of the story. They talked about how many shoes sold for youth were backless. "It's ridiculous to be so concerned with such a trivial matter." They refuted the claim about the insurance, based on Melissa's research and made a good case for removing the ban.
Mrs. Gray spoke for herself and the other teachers who supported maintaining the ban. They talked about the potential for injury on stairs and liability issues and refuted the research Melissa had done. They also brought up the issue of classroom disruption - about how slapping shoes and shoeplay made a lot of noise. She also mentioned how sometimes a guy would steal and hide a girl's shoe and sometimes leave her to attend the next class or two in one shoe before the perpetrator returned the shoe. Mrs. Gray also noted that shoes that displayed much of the foot and all the toes were too casual for an educational environment. "Some girls dress like they're going to the beach!" She also asked the school board if they were disturbed by the girl's shoeplay while in the school board chambers. A couple of heads nodded in agreement.
The girls were able to respond to Mrs. Gray. They agreed with some of what she said, but clarified, "Girls wearing flats and other easy-to-slip-of styles with backs can also be played with or stolen or even come off while going up and down stairs." Their main argument centered on the irrelevance that footwear had toward whether someone was a good student. They also criticized the attempt to stifle individuality and fashion creativity. One of the girls there noted that she was a straight-A student, no matter what shoes she wore.
Mrs. Gray gave her final reply and repeated her earlier arguments. Then she made her final case. "Sometimes even adults have trouble while wearing backless shoes. They come off so easily that they can become lost." Mrs. Gray pulled out Melissa's pink flat from her attache and held it up to the school board. Melissa gasped and her heart leapt into her throat and her heart began to race. Mrs. Gray continued, "My son, Russell found this shoe in the parking lot at the mall on Saturday. See that it's a backless shoe. There's not a lot of support. Only the ends of her toes were keeping the shoe on and for some reason, she lost it and did not know where it went and apparently left the mall without it. Melissa, isn't this your shoe?"
A very embarrassed Melissa took the shoe form Mrs. Gray and hid it away in her purse. The President of the School Board asked for comments from the members before taking the final vote.
I (Kinja) am playing the role as the President of the School Board and you (the readers of this story) are the School Board members. I invite you to email me at kin865@yahoo.com with your comments and your recommendation. It can be one of the three choices below:
(1) Vote to Overturn the Ban (Why?)
(2) Vote to Keep the Ban (Why?)
(3) Vote for a compromise position (What? and Why?)
I will post the best responses and give the unscientific poll result for the School Board outcome before the first of July.
I would also be interested in knowing if any of you from other countries, besides the United States have this issue in your school systems. Please reply with any insights you have.
There is really a lot of activity around the US concerning Dress Codes and whether or not to allow Backless Shoes. I did a Google search and below is just the 'tip of the iceberg.' in terms of information on this subject. There seems to be more problems in areas where backless shoes are feasible (the weather is warm enough) for much of the school year. Feel free to browse some of these links:
NEWSPAPER STORIES
http://www.floridatoday.com/news/verge/stories/2001/oct/102801cp.htm
http://www.staugustine.com/stories/ 121400/new_1214000008.shtml
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/news/ 042503/Local/ST002.shtml
http://www.floridatoday.com/news/verge/stories/2001/oct/102801cp.htm
http://www.jacksonville.com/community/cc/daonline/stories/052002/051602121226.shtml
http://www.wsav.com/news/education/MGBS0Z3X1ED.html
SCHOOL DRESS CODES
http://www.caller2.com/grantms/dress_code.html
http://www.gtchs.org/Dress-code.htm
http://www.zeinah.com/westridge/dress_code.htm
http://www.youngstown.k12.oh.us/west/policies/dress.html
http://www.tcs4u.org/handbook/handbk6.htm
http://www.lowndes.k12.ga.us/info/dresscode.htm
http://www.ahes.nvusd.k12.ca.us/dress_code.htm
NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION
