My latest effort in guerrilla literature, ironically dropped in a shoe store as I was buying new shoes.
Payless Shoes – Centro Shopping Centre, Seven Hills
My father sat me down one Saturday morning, my school shoes in his hand.
“We’re staying here until we can tie our laces,” he said.
There was over and under, loops and rabbit ears, going around trees and over fences. All I saw was a tangle of black spaghetti.
My father pontificated as I struggled in the art of mimicry.
“Shoelaces are like life,” he said. “At first it’s tricky and complicated. It’s fiddly and frustrating. Sometimes, it’s the little things that trip you up.”
Looking back down to my shoes to try again, I looked at my father’s feet. He was wearing a pair of slip on work boots.
And, yes, I did put the postcard into a box of slip on shoes.
A Fullness in Brevity - Adam Byatt 
Nice work, Adam, and a fine resting place for them. Enjoyed the analogy of life and shoe laces. Tripping isn’t my problem as often as remembering to walk.
I love this! It’s a bit like Flash Mob / Yarn Bombing of literature. I love both the idea, and the story! Well told and well done. And of COURSE slip-ons! 🙂
god I remember the hell of trying to learn to tie laces. Thank god for slip ons back then. And yes the postcard drop is a brilliant idea. Top work
I loved it! I loved the analogy between learning to tie shoe laces and learning to live life! Well told and you really made me smile by telling us you dropped the postcard into a box of slip on shoes ^__^
That was adorable! And I still say you have beautiful handwriting.
Nicely done! (And putting it in a box of slip on shoes was an awesome touch.)
“At first it’s tricky and complicated. It’s fiddly and frustrating. Sometimes, it’s the little things that trip you up.”
So true! A lovely metaphor for life. 🙂
BTW … Have you heard of flashpoints? It’s a little idea I had that turned into a guerrilla literature project. This story would fit in wonderfully. It’s been a bit quiet of late; but I’m hoping to get it moving again over the summer. If you’re interested, here’s the link: http://nffdflashpoints.blogspot.co.uk/
What a great idea. Might think about it as something for here in Australia, too.
Cool! We’ve had flashpoints from all over the world, but I don’t think we’ve had one from Australia yet.
Sent it off this afternoon. One from the Antipodes.
You know, I think there’s also a lesson there with Dad wearing slip-ons: a lot of issues in life go away if you look at them from a different angle!
Clever idea with the literature drop. I might have to try that.
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I love the guerrilla literature idea. It’s definately something I’d like to try. Unlike you, however, my handwriting sucks!
The story itself is really sweet, too. I enjoyed it.
The quality of the handwriting is irrelevant. It’s the story that matters most.
Brilliant idea Adam, and well done. I bet you can’t wait for someone to find it. Did any of the employees of the shop notice you dropping it off?
I actually bought some shoes while I was there, but I don’t think anyone saw me. They have security cameras in the store so I might have been seen, but I don’t know.
Now that you’ve done a couple of these I’m wondering whether anyone that found a story has contacted you?
No one has contacted me yet. I was in the area yesterday and was tempted to drop in to the store to see if it was still there but chickened out.
This is super Adam! I especially like the analogy of tying shoelaces and living life. And I agree, your handwriting is beautiful. I envy you that – when I was younger I wrote quite neatly, but the more I’ve gotten into writing stories the worse my writing has become, so bad that often I can’t read it myself! Ah, well….
What a great idea! I’ve found some interesting things left in library books over the years, but never any prose or poetry. And I remember struggling with shoelaces and constantly getting into trouble because I ended up with horrendous knots. 🙂