Shoes

My hiking boots, low tops, lightweight, 'bout the same as basketball shoes, that I wear most everywhere, don't slide all the way into the bike's strap peddles...because of this, I put off riding the new bike for several days, and looked and looked on line, and rei, for some kinda shoe that would work. 

Long time ago, I had bike shoes for strap peddles, but now all the bike shoes are for clip peddles--bottom of shoe has clip that attaches to top of peddle.

 Bit frustrated, I gave up looking, but a couple days back went to get road bike pants, which have a needed pad in them, at big 5,  and a helmet, and there, on the wall with shoes, was 'new arrival', an indoor soccer shoe made by adidas.  They work perfectly! 

Yesterday evening, I peddled from Moon Park to Talbert Reserve to check on Owl...Owls gone, Owlet all grown up I hopefully imagine!  One can't stay out on the River Trail after dark, so I can't listen and maybe locate Owls.  Kinda haveta depend on mobbing Crows.  Got so engaged on riding the bike that I didn't take pics on the short roll.  Much fun to go quick!

Anyway, I've been rolling over in my thoughts Graves' going on about handmade things...he does this in many of his books, one of his refrains, and in one he connects it with the concept of "Baraka"...a favorite pair of shoes might be said to have Baraka, or at least that was the sense I gathered...a favorite bat, a glove, for a baseball player, etc. 

Meanings I have for words are sometimes out of line with the dictionaries, and checking on Baraka on the web, as I wanted to do to post about Graves' handmade notion, I find the word is more elaborate.

That Baraka is a notion of the Sufis I knew, and I might add it is notion of Hindus too, and maybe all religions.   How it applies to people, saints and such, is afield from what I had in mind, and beyond. 

Oh, Graves references how Scots have very good relations with machines, and why one finds them in the engine rooms of ships.  And on Star Trek Starships, I might add!

I think too Graves' handmade refrain derives  from his having lived through the beginning of the mechanization of warfare--machine guns, airplane bombers, tanks, all introduced in WW1.  He'd seen first hand what soulless machines can do to who they're aimed at, and to who aims them!

In brief, even inorganic things, can become endowed with baraka.   Muir touches on this in the end of his 1000 mile walk story.  It's late, or I'd track that out, which would take a bit.

But, but, when I googled "Baraka def" this page came up, with the shoes being advertised on either side! LOL!!  Another way of laughter indeed!