Breathing life into Muscatine and an old pair of shoes

In the far corner of my closet there is an old pair of wingtip shoes that I am going to get resoled soon.

And then I’m going to put red laces in them.

That was the look being walked around downtown Muscatine this morning by author Dan Buettner, who created the Blue Zone movement. He was in Muscatine for a walkability tour given by Dan Burden, executive director of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute Inc. There was a lot of media there, so you should be able to find some news coverage of the event somewhere if you are interested.

I got to visit for a minute or two with Buettner, who seemed like a nice guy. And I’m really interested in the ideas he and Burden both promote. I really hope their movement takes off in Muscatine.

But it was later during the walking tour of downtown that I spied Buettner’s shoes. I can’t help but think my old wingtips are going to look pretty cool decked out like that with some bright, red laces.