The East adjusts, willy nilly

"Pick up your feet!" my father used to say. And I did and so learned to walk confidently.

But in Tokyo, no such admonition. It's perfectly OK to shuffle. Does this come from wearing sandals, which lend themselves to shuffling? Absurd to pick up your feet in sandals. Shufflers are nonchalant, at peace with themselves and the world.

But women in high heels have to pick up their feet. It is not possible to shuffle in high heels.

Thus does the West intrude on the conventions and rhythms of the East.

- Dan McPartland