There must be a light under the bushel!

Lone shoe on the highway...

You see some interesting things driving along Texas highways. Quite a bit of roadkill; you just have to divert your eyes when you come across it. Lots of tire pieces, usually from 18 wheelers. But then there is the occassional shoe. Not a pair. Just one shoe.

I've never understood this. How does one shoe end up stranded on the side of the highway? Was someone sticking his feet out the window and the shoe just flew off? I don't think that's likely because you don't normally see a sandal. Instead, you mostly find boots and tennis shoes. A big gust of wind just wouldn't do the trick.

Maybe a couple got in a fight in the car and one threw a shoe at the other, but when the person ducked, the shoe went flying out the window. Could that many people throw shoes at each other in rage?

Do the people not miss their shoe? Why don't they stop and get it? Maybe they just got tired of that shoe and didn't know where else to throw it away.

Is it a trail? If we followed it, would we find that someone was dropping shoes to mark where he had been so he knew how to retrace his way back? Or it might be an SOS signal that we are supposed to follow, but we're just too sidetracked by the idea of the lone shoe to catch on.

Is there a one-footed bandit on the loose who steals shoes and throws away the one he doesn't need? Maybe I need to start paying attention to whether the shoes are all for the same foot. Hmmm.

I think it might be some kind of twisted joke by some hitchhiker; let's screw with the drivers and see if they can figure this out.