The Double Down

I convinced Devon to go to KFC and try the new Double Down sandwich with "so much chicken [KFC] didn't have room for a bun."

I knew it was gonna be a good trip when I saw this... This guy was just in too much of a hurry to remember how to park.


Ordering the Double Down. The cashier talked it up like crazy.


They finished making our "sandwiches" and packed them in a box. A box with the Colonel on it, laughing at you for giving him more of your money, while he gives you a heart attack in return.


The first glimpse. First time I've gotten fast food that actually somewhat looked like the commercial. Looks like original recipe.


Took a bite. First impression: meh.


Finished it. Some of the cheese and "spicy mayonnaise" was stuck on the wrapper. That part was actually really good.


The verdict: salty. 1380 mg of sodium and you can taste each one. Devon got a thigh after and we agreed, if they put less salt on the double down and kept the seasoning EXACTLY how they do it on the rest of their chicken, it would have been a lot better. The Double Down is good, but has some room for improvement. I'd eat it again, but not often.

Weekend Without Shoes: The Welcomed End

I've been sick, so I haven't been able to get to blogging the end of my weekend, yes I realize it was three days ago, sue me. OK, don't. I was very happy to be able to put on some shoes and walk out the door on Monday. It's a comfort I'll appreciate from now on. My feet, even a few days after being able to wear shoes again, hurt. The blisters are finally healing, but not fast enough.

As I was hoping, I was able to speak with Devon about growing up barefoot, this conversation shifted my thoughts a bit on the situation.

I opened up by explaining to him about Tom's and their purpose. Devon Porteous grew up in the slums of Jamaica, only having one pair of shoes to wear only during special occasions. He says it was a normal thing for kids to go out and play barefoot, that he would get cuts and often step on glass. However, infection wasn't a worry. I almost felt let down hearing that, but the reason is, there are simply bigger things to worry about, like food. Medical care wasn't readily available in Jamaica; we have clinics and emergency rooms in multiple hospitals per city, that's not the case in Jamaica. People live in too much poverty to think about going to the hospital.

Devon started wearing shoes regularly when he moved from Jamaica to Washington, D.C., at age 10. It was normal to him, having hardened feet, not knowing any better. Which in itself is a bit of a sad statement; people living on an island no further from the shores of the US than Salt Lake City, Utah is from Las Vegas, Nevada don't know what it's like to have a pair of walking shoes, something each one of us takes for granted.

When I asked Devon to think back, knowing what he knows now, would he be happy to have had shoes as a kid. After a bit of hesitation, he admitted that something like a pair of shoes would have been a big deal, saying, "We would have taken them and put those bad boys away to only wear a couple times a week for only a few minutes each time." He went on to say if he went to Jamaica and saw all the children running around without shoes, he wouldn't be very happy about it, he'd want to change it. From a person who's lived through it, "It's a good idea, but there are millions of people without, we've gotta get to work."

The first step in fixing a big problem is taking away the smaller problems. If we want to help pull other societies out of poverty, we have to start, literally, from the ground. We have to get aware.

Weekend Without Shoes: Day 2-3

I was unable to get to the computer on Friday, so I'm combining days two and three into one blog. I could very easily sum up the last two days in one word. Painful. You never realize how much texture there is to everything until you walk on it with blisters. I'll admit, it's made me a little apprehensive about leaving the house.

Taking a shower has been tough. The texture on the shower floor is made to draw water toward the drain and it's harsh. Then the tile floor doesn't offer any cushion... I'm complaining about the surfaces in my nice house; imagine walking on dirt.

The main thing I want to point out is how much people expect a pair of shoes. I went to the grocery store with my sister and while I waited for her to get a cart, a woman walked by me and very blatantly stared at my feet, silently judging. The thing that really got me confused about that situation is that this woman was wearing sandals. The only difference was that she had a thin piece of foam under foot, yet she was so... Almost angry that I didn't have anything. This illustrates a point I've been making the whole time: something people expect and demand here, simply isn't available other places. It's heartbreaking.

Saturday has been a bit easier, I can tell my feet have healed quite a bit. That's not to say it doesn't suck. Every step I take I can feel that loose skin moving and pulling more skin apart forming bigger blisters. I can't imagine dealing with that for miles and miles every day. Especially in the heat... I helped move some firewood off the porch and standing on the sun-soaked concrete made me dance. Not the good kind. More of a pee-pee dance. I could take a break from it, step into the shade for a few seconds. I notice I've been babying my feet and I really feel for these kids who have to be constantly aware of every single pebble, not being able to put their feet anywhere comfortable...

I'm going to talk about this more first hand for day four. My brother-in-law, Devon, grew up in the slums of Jamaica with no shoes. Hoping to get some info out of him.

Weekend Without Shoes: Day 1

Most children in developing countries grow up without shoes, this leads to cuts on their feet that get infected from all the dirt and grime they walk through. Most schools won't allow students to attend without a pair of shoes. That means these kids don't get any proper education whatsoever.

Tom's Shoes has always been about a cause. That cause; give a pair of shoes to every child without. For every pair of Tom's Shoes you buy, be it from a store or online, they will give a pair to a child who needs shoes.

Last year, Tom's sponsored an event called "One Day Without Shoes". This happened in a few cities, people walked to work barefoot, delivery drivers did their routes without shoes and so on. This year, it happened nationwide. Over 2,000 events for One Day Without Shoes were registered, I'm sure more happened. I went to today's walk down St. George Boulevard, and it was amazing. So many people came out to support the cause.

In the following few blog posts, I'll chronicle my weekend without shoes. My good friend Shorty Huff gave me the idea, and I decided to give just a peak at what kids are suffering through in 3rd-world countries. My mom had the good camera, took it with her on a trip to Salt Lake so these were taken with my phone camera.

Today started fine. Went outside to play with the dogs, it was nice remembering the feel of grass on bare feet.


Driving to the walk. Just to prove I kept my shoes off. Got some looks at the gas station.


Getting the signs ready. Kinda pointless to do this if nobody knows what it's for...


On the walk. This photo doesn't do it justice. There were quite a few people there.


Feet after the walk. Pretty gross. Gives you a perspective for sure. Not being able to wash your feet after a full day of this, the tiniest scratch could easily lead to infection and possibly death from that.


My feet. Super gross. I think I stepped in gum...


This kid pulled up on his scooter and handed us his sandals. What a stud.


Blister on my right foot. I have one just as bad on my left.


Washing my feet afterward. I need to keep them clean, I can't risk my health with this. I just sat soaking my feet for a while. They hurt.


Day two coming tomorrow. Will be interesting to see how blisters progress...

One love.

Rainy Day Walk

On Monday, I got a bit stressed out about a few things, so I decided to try something new to help calm down. I grabbed the camera, put on a jacket, put my iPod on shuffle and walked out the door. Not really sure where I was going, I wandered. Here's what I got.


This one is my personal favourite. I found this right next to Snow Canyon Middle School, a bottle of Purell lying in the gutter.


Speaks for itself.


This one is my mom's favourite. She says it's "just like life". I dunno...

Collapse

So, I've always had this fascination with and passion for photography. I don't know what it is about it that draws me to it, not even enough to try to start explaining. On many occasions I've found myself up late at night, looking at pictures that other people have taken and being so impressed and drawn to the shots. Whenever I'm out with the family and the camera is around, I end up being the one with it. I've decided to make something out of it. So, here are a couple of my favourites.

We are all connected

I've really gained a huge respect for people who take science - namely space and time - and put it in a way that I can understand with my comparatively simple mind. People like Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson and even Bill Nye make me feel like I actually can grasp this stuff. Watching videos of these guys, who are so passionate about this stuff, is really amazing, seeing that passion and how excited they get about it all. While watching some videos on YouTube, I ran across this and thought it would be funny... I've listened to it 5 times in the last half-hour or so. It's actually a really beautiful piece of work. The pieces of the videos they took actually make decent lyrics for what it is. Auto-tune's high function was made for this kind of thing, I think. Anyway, take a watch and see for yourself.