Running out of her shoes

Transcript

Last Thursday I took an early morning train to Kyoto. At about a quarter after 7 I got off the train at JR Kyoto Station and began walking toward the subway line. About a dozen people were going in the same direction, all walking quickly.

A few people were hurrying in the opposite direction. One of them, a young woman, was running quickly. Suddenly, as she approached, she ran right out of her shoes. She took three or four more steps and then ran back to retrieve her shoes. She must have been in a great hurry. She picked up both shoes with her right hand and then continued on her way at full speed in her bare feet.

Nobody said anything, but several of us slowed down and smiled as we continued toward the subway. Several people were chuckling. That young woman might have been a little embarrassed, but she gave some early morning commuters a moment of light entertainment. Nobody had been hurt, and nothing very exciting had happened, but it was really funny to see someone in such a hurry that she outran her own shoes.

I'm definitely not a city guy, but I appreciate little incidents like that. They add bit of humor to the rush of urban life.