Sole sensation

No one, be they male, female, whatever, should take fashion advice from me.

But listen to me when I say, Viola Davis, the actress, has her head on straight because she has her feet in sneakers.

She got all duded up for the Emmy Awards the weekend before last, wearing what is described as a "gorgeous" black and white gown. But the audience got the surprise of their lives when they got to her feet with their eyes.

She was wearing platform sneakers! Oh my yes!

Later last week, she told Jimmy Kimmel, “But that’s what it feels like! That you’re forced to wear heels.”

Ms Davis was handing out the Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama series, said she found out she would have to hike a good way to get to the podium, she said to 86 the high heels and bring out the sneaks.

“Here’s the thing: I knew I had to present, so I thought I was going to hobble onstage to the podium and just announce the supporting actor,” she said. “But then I found out I had to walk through the presentation and I said, ‘Oh hell no.’ I said, ‘I will only do it if I could wear my sneakers,’ and I wore my sneakers.”

She had worn heels on the red carpet before the awards because she “did not want to insult Stuart Weitzman, who made the shoes.”

Similarly, in elementary school and junior high, I did not wish to insult Jack Purcell, who made my shoes.

It wasn't all that long ago that men and women alike would not sacrifice style for comfort, and you'd see people going to work in open toed pumps and wing tips even on days of frog-strangling rain, meaning they got to work or school with wet feet and diminished expectations for having great days.

Somewhere along the line, people wised up, and lots of women I know (including one to whom I've been married for nearly half a century) began wearing sneakers to work and home again, leaving a collection of 27 pairs of dress shoes below their desks to change into.

And the Grunge Look made it not only practical, but downright cool, for men to wear Timberland boots, so right for everyday use and for those nights on the town, with their herringbone tweeds.

You only get one pair of feet, and you're going to spend a lot of time on them. Make sure your dogs don't bark by wearing the right shoes, and you'll be happy when you get old.

Did you know that if you eat an apple a day for 80 years, you'll live to be at least 80?