Have you heard that after we’re 35 years old we can no longer blame our parents for our issues? Yep, me too. That’s why I’m blaming my shoe addiction on President Jimmy Carter.

You see, I was at an impressionable age when our 39th president served our great country from 1977-1981. This is not to get political, but rather to state the fact that during “the Carter years” the U.S. experienced economic woes of high inflation and unemployment. This translated in my childhood to two pairs of shoes: one for P.E. and one for every other occasion.

Today, it’s not uncommon for me to choose a shoe purchase over Starbucks. Give me some shoes, please. Even Seinfeld agreed in Episode #16, February 4, 1993:

“If women buy a pair of shoes that they really love, then this is like boarding the alien ship. It’s entirely possible that the aliens have landed; they just can’t get our attention because we’re so preoccupied with cleavage and shoes.” Seinfeld: The Shoes “Men and Cleavage: Women and Shoes”