The Mayor and the Mouse Shoes

Preface: This is a modern day fairytale. It is totally true. Except my friend Milena is not a princess. At least not that I know of.

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Milena. Milena lived a happy life, but she craved something more. Although her days were filled with joy--an exciting government internship, a really cute dog, an impressive collection of headbands, and a boyfriend who can totally pull off newsboy caps, she always felt that something was missing.

One night in the summer of 2007 she was browsing her friend Winona's blog, and stumbled upon a photo that would change her life.

Behold! Mouse shoes!

O yes, these $358 rodent-inspired shoes were a princess's dream come true! The problem? They were $358. As a college student, Milena could hardly justify such an expense. Alas, the mouse shoes would have to wait.

The seasons changed, years passed, and Winona and Milena moved apart and fell out of touch. Still, through their separate graduations, jobs, and adventures, the mouse shoes never left their minds.

A couple months ago Milena and Winona reconnected. And it was at a coffee shop that Winona said, "Remember the mouse shoes?"

Milena gasped, because of course she remembered the mouse shoes, and this encouragement was all she needed to begin an eBay search. She found pairs that were too big, too small, too black, too white, and finally: a silver pair in her size that was just right. And around a hundred bucks. Sweet.

Milena received her mouse shoes in the mail and felt that her life was finally complete. She wore them everyday, with jeans, skirts, trousers, everything. Looking down at those little eyes and whiskers peeking out from the hem of her pants always made her smile, but there was still a slight problem: nobody else seemed to care about the mouse shoes. She hadn't received one compliment--not one! And I mean, yeah, she loved them and maybe that should have been enough, but sometimes a princess needs a little validation, you know?

A couple weeks later, Milena went to an important work meeting. Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland, happened to sit down next to her. He asked to borrow a pen. She obliged. It was pretty much the coolest moment of her life.

When the meeting adjourned, the mayor returned the pen, and as he was leaving he leaned in toward Milena.

"Cool mouse shoes," he said.

And Milena (and her mouse shoes) lived happily ever after.