retiring the shoes

It is with great sadness that I announce I've hereby retired the neon orange shoes with yellow laces. I do this in respect for the environment. You see, these were my special playa shoes, which I created for my first journey to Black Rock City last year. I spray painted an old, comfortable pair of shoes I owned because I want to add color and pizazz to all of my outfits, but when I returned, i noticed that tiny bits of paint had chipped off here and there, creating a mortal playa sin: MOOP (matter out of place). Eeek! I'm new, I'm learning.



Hundreds of volunteers spend hours each year removing tiny particles of waste that fall from people's costume, food plates, and art projects in order to leave the playa as spotless as it was when we arrived. This is what's called "Leave No Trace." This is one of the many principals of Burning Man that has spilled over into my normal life, particularly when camping, picnicing on the beach or in parks, or just spending time in a public space. I notice little things like bottle caps and discarded water bottles and I wonder how beautiful things would be if every person could be conscientous enough to take the time to look for these things. Anyway, it's heartwrenching for me to think that someone, somewhere on the playa had to stop to pick up tiny bits of neon orange paint from my shoes (that really aren't even that cool to begin with), so I am not bringing them back this year. I haven't decided on my new footwear, but I know that my shoes won't be someone else's problem.