I have faced the forces of darkness.

And I have won. I have defeated them and sent them scrambling back to their pits of despair from whence they sprang.

I took Tricia to get new shoes.

Tricia, like a lot of people with disabilities, likes things to remain ExactlyTheSameForever. More reasonably, she prefers to wear shoes that are appropriate to her adult age. Unfortunately, her feet are small and she wears childrens' sizes. :P Do you see where all this is going?

So, we began at Smiley Face Hell. Everything was too narrow to go over her ankle widget. By "everything" I mean "the two pairs in the store that don't look like Tinkerbell threw up all over them." Then, onto Dumbass Jock Sports Store. ("We need this in a 4.5 or 5." [looks] "All we have is a 6." "Um, that's not going to work." "Could she wear a 7?" I wish I was making the above exchange up. ) Oh, and did I mention we only had $30 to work with? So $60 shoes are not going to cut it?

Finally, we went to Chain Store that Changes Its Name Like Monthly (CSTCINLM, or CST for short). We dug and dug and dug through the piles of shoes. (Oh, for the full effect picture an amount of dramatics to make Sarah Bernhardt look like a rank amateur, coming from Tricia.) Finally, what to my wondering eyes should appear but a pair of plain gray sneakers, from the clearance rack. In size 5 wide. More than sufficient to go over the widget. I showed them to Tricia, she pointed at them and said firmly, "Yes." Tried them on her, they slipped over the widget like they were made to do it. Oh, and they were $22! I nearly wept for joy.

On the way out, Tricia said, "I'm happy now!" I said, "So am I, Tricia. So am I." Was I ever!