This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Two Shoes
When we are exposed to greatness, it has the potential to awaken our own. I think that’s why pilgrims in the Middle Ages collected relics and religious artifacts. They were in search of something that would inspire their own faith, hope, and strength. While I can’t relate to wanting a saint’s tooth, I do understand their search. Just like what I was searching for when I asked my friend Chris for his shoes. Chris is a world-class triathlete and Ironman champion and is of my closest friends. He trains like a mad man and goes through shoes faster than I finish a pack of gum. One day we were hanging out in his garage and he was cleaning up. Chris was about to throw away a stinky old pair of shoes when I asked if I could have them to hang on my wall. He looked at me like I was a crazy, but he obliged and even signed the soles. Every time I see those shoes I’m reminded of his tenacity and grit.
When he was younger, Chris wasn’t much of an athlete but got inspired to do a triathlon after seeing the event on television. After a number of years of insanely difficult work, Chris became a pro—it was a dream come true. Just as his career was starting to take off, his dreams were shattered when some doofus ran over his foot. That culprit was not a stranger but a close personal friend. It was me.