This afternoon, I went off in search of shoes. My ‘good’ shoes have become my ‘every day’ shoes, so I wanted a backup. I like the Clarks brand. They never have the exact same shoe year after year, but they have a similar type.

I headed to Bellis Fair mall in Bellingham and popped my head into a couple of shoe stores, including the shoe section at Sears, but no Clarks. I began to think that they might be a Canadian brand, but one shoe clerk told me to try JC Penney’s. There, I found not only Clarks, but the exact shoe I wanted, and for only $70, about half of the cost of the shoes in Canada!

So, imagine the sticker shock when I went to pay and discovered that the shoes were on sale. With tax, I paid $30.

I got my current pair of Clarks back in 2007 and I remember exactly how much I paid for them: $147.30. And that was on sale.

Now that I’m home, I’m kicking myself for not getting a second pair. The sale’s on for the rest of the month, so I’m likely to go back!