Aug 14, 2011 12:23
For my fortieth birthday, I went to Macy's. I found a beautiful pair of pumps there. They were $299.
So I circled the globe, gathering funds and distributing supplies. I stared down hard-eyed guerrillas to shepherd aid convoys to their destinations. I invented brilliant appropriate-technology solutions and helped local cooperatives manufacture them. I microfinanced. I tapped native horticultural knowledge to test and spread pest-resistant crop varieties. I inoculated and I educated. I drilled wells and passed out mosquito nets. I reforested and reclaimed. I was tireless; I was a machine. At last, world hunger and extreme poverty were eliminated.
Finally, it was a world where I could pay that much for shoes. I made it back to Macy's just before closing.
"Oh, I'm sorry", said the saleslady. "We don't carry wide sizes."