When I got off the tube in West Hampstead the other day, I saw these shoes sitting forlornly beside a bench. Did someone take them off, switch into fancier footwear, and then leave them behind? Maybe they ran to catch a train and then, just as the doors closed, thought, "Oh no! My shoes!" Or maybe they left them behind on purpose, wanting to get rid of them. Another urban mystery with no solution.
I ate this yesterday, and I'm not proud of it. Not long after I got to work, a colleague called me on the phone and said donuts were available, courtesy of our school's parent group. So I went to check them out and found a variety of heart-shaped confections from Dunkin Donuts including this one with an Oreo on top, and Oreo filling. There's really no way to make a donut nutritious, but this one threw caution to the wind! And so did I.
And here's a career first for me -- I was a clue in a crossword puzzle in the school paper!
They look like a decent pair of shoes. I suppose you judged them for size for your own clod hoppers.
ReplyDeleteYes, you don't visit McDonalds for healthy food. A doughnut is a doughnut, made worse by what what else is with it.
I didn't look at them closely enough to gauge the size!
DeleteI know someone who occasionally leaves shoes for unhoused folks in various public places. Maybe that's the answer to the mystery?
ReplyDeleteP.S. Fun to be a clue.
Yeah, that's a good guess. Although to retrieve them, a homeless person would have to get access to the tube station which you can't do without passing through the gates, which you can't do without paying. If I were trying to leave them for a homeless person I'd have put them out on the street.
DeleteFame!!
ReplyDeleteWe all get our fifteen minutes!
DeleteI've never eaten an oreo or anything from dunkin donuts and can't say I'm tempted by your photo. Now if it was just an ordinary jam doughnut things might be different!
ReplyDeleteOdd about the shoes hope they get found and used by someone who needs them
You have to taste their crullers!
DeleteHaving eaten the Oreo donut, I agree that a plain jelly donut would have been better.
DeleteYou know, when I was in London, I left a coat on a bench. A long puffer type. I had hauled everywhere and it was just too warm. I left it draped over a bench at a bus stop. I hoped that whoever found it needed it. I too was an urban mystery.
ReplyDeleteOh that was YOU! I think I've seen that coat! :)
DeleteWhat was the solution? I can think of a few things including "RAGAMUFFIN" and "SCAVENGER" and there are other words too but they might upset you so I have self-censored.
ReplyDeleteHey now! You can see the solutions in my scan if you look carefully. :)
DeleteSomebody was beamed up! I’ve never known anyone who was in a crossword puzzle. I’m in awe.
ReplyDeleteWere we visited by Captain Kirk?
DeleteMore momentary fame for you!
ReplyDeleteHa! Have I had momentary fame in the past?
DeleteYou mean you never noticed??
DeleteWow, when you're in a crossword, you've arrived! Now you're in a bracket with Elayne Boosler. Her name spelling has landed her in the nyt xword more than once.
ReplyDeleteI guess when you have an unusual, short name it's likely to be a good clue. I've seen Yma Sumac turn up in crosswords before.
DeleteNice parents' group - clearly they appreciate all that the school does for their children.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to be clue in a crossword!
The parents are very good to us.
DeleteThere is actually a Dunkin' Donuts at Moon Plaza and I have yet to have one thing from there. It's been open for a couple of years now, at least.
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? The NYT's Sunday crossword? The sky's the limit!
I'm not sure how long it's been since I've gone into a Dunkin' Donuts -- probably not since I blogged from there every morning while visiting my family a couple of years ago. (Their router wasn't working.) I may have to do that again when I go back next week!
DeleteIt must be a sign of fame to be a crossword clue surely.
ReplyDeleteNow, Dunkin' Donuts - yuk - but with Oreos??? Double yuk.
Ha! Normally, that's my reaction too. I don't know why I went for it this time. I suppose because it was a gift of sorts.
DeleteIt might have been a teenage prank where they had bee superglued to the concrete and the site was secretly being taped to see the reactions that ensued. I may or may not have seen someone do this with a dollar coin in a busy commons area on campus. Fortunately for those who fell for it, small discreet cameras were not a thing.
ReplyDeleteI have encountered glued coins before, but glued shoes would be pretty extreme!
DeleteWell, look at you! You're famous:)
ReplyDeleteI've left shoes behind before, for homeless people.
Yeah, that might be what's happening here.
DeleteNice shoes, so I suppose the owner forget to pick them up.
ReplyDeleteA celebrity in the Crosswords!
There used to be another teacher at our school also named Mr. Reed, so this clue wouldn't have worked then. But he's been retired now for several years.
DeleteHow fun to be a clue in crossword puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI bet those shoes were left for someone to pick up. I've seen things like that at bus stops before.
I haven't had a donut in a long time but right at this moment, I think I'd snatch one up.
Technically, I think it's probably littering to leave shoes behind like that.
DeleteI would not eat that donut - not a big fan of chocolate. Congrats on the crossword puzzle mention! The students must like you!
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate, but I'm not sure it's my favorite thing on a donut. Some of the kids like me, but supposedly some of them are scared of me. Or so I've heard.
DeleteI would definitely have eaten the donut & then regretted it later. Ha!
ReplyDeleteHa! Somehow I managed not to regret it too much, but as I said, I'm not proud. :)
Deletecaution to the wind is sometimes a very good thing...sometimes revolting. We put velveta cheese in a cupboard for ten years to see what it would do- it remained the same! I think that I would have pit the donut there along side it- it would last forever and the mice wouldn't touch it. ART!
ReplyDeleteThe shoes reminded me of 'The Rapture". I guess that guy was the only one worthy...
DeleteWasn't there a story about someone seeing how long a Twinkie would last, and it lasted decades essentially unchanged?
DeleteHow lonely, to be the only raptured person. I'd rather stay behind with everyone else.
You're famous! I'd have eaten the donut, maybe. Oreo filling? Maybe not. The question is, did you eat it with the oreo on top or separate? When we lived in the city and craved a late night sweet snack about 10 pm Marc would go to the Dunkin Donuts. Had to ne Dunkin Donuts, the ones we grew up with. Not Shipley's or Krispy Kremes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the Oreo filling was a bit much. That was a surprise to me. I took the cookie off and ate it first.
DeleteThat's a cute doughnut but not being a fan of Oreos I wouldn't choose it. An apple fritter would be nice though!
ReplyDeleteI do love an Oreo, I must say. Oreo ice cream is one of my favorite flavors.
DeleteThose are odd looking shoes. The velcro suggests that they're bicycling shoes, but they're higher than road shoes in the back. Perhaps they are mountain bike shoes that protect the ankles more than a road shoe. No matter, they're really awful to walk in due to very stiff soles.
ReplyDeleteThey look like maybe they're orthopedic, or made for someone with mobility or dexterity problems?
DeleteI'm a hard "no" on the donut, what a sugar bomb. Hopefully you'll still talk to us now that you're famous. :)
ReplyDeleteHa! I won't let it go to my head, I promise.
DeleteI love that you made the crossword puzzle!! You're famous!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe a kid made up a crossword puzzle. That's pretty hard to do!
DeleteAnd they call you "Mister"! Wow! How good is that?
ReplyDeleteHa! When I first started there some older kids called me "Steve" but it always seemed a little weird to me. I like "mister" better.
DeleteI did not know Dunkin Donuts had heart shaped donuts. It looks fried, sugary and sweet. Unlike daily donuts with coffee, an occasional donut does little harm.
ReplyDeleteYou made the crossword puzzle!
That's my theory too -- I eat donuts so rarely that I can afford to have an eye-popping one now and then.
DeleteHooray for you 😃 I don't get the answers for #2 and #8, how does "still loading" translate to "Teamie"?
ReplyDeleteTeamie is a computer platform that kids and faculty use at our school to track grades and assignments. It has not met with widespread approval.
DeleteOh, and I don't get No. 2 either!
DeleteYou're famous! The dog ate it could lead to all sorts of funny answers since dogs will eat almost anything. The shoes are in pretty good condition. Maybe someone who needs them will find them. I suspect the donut is a once a year kind of thing so you don't have to feel guilty about it.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Yeah, definitely once a year, if not even less than that!
DeleteGood for you, Mr. Reed! Next step: NYT puzzle clues. Or Jeopardy!
ReplyDelete