A cry for adult Punky Brewster shoes

In a few words, the shoes were amazing. In a few more words, they were the stuff of which the 1980’s kid show “Punky Brewster” was built on.

I had to take another look to make sure my eyes had not pulled a fast one on me — as they are wont to do.

Mirages are a side effect of an overactive imagination and really, really wanting to see cool stuff.

But no, the sneakers — one mostly purple and pink, the other mostly yellow and red — were real.

My lips remained pursed, but my brain screamed "Punky Power."

As I discovered, the sneakers came out of the box that way.

I kept my cool outwardly, but on this inside, this former Punky Brewster fanatic’s head exploded.

Backing up, surely you remember Punky Brewster.

Starring Soleil Moon Frye, the sitcom was about a spunky little girl living in Chicago with her foster father Arthur (George Gaynes).

Punky had a best friend named Cherrie (how awesome is that?), a dog named Brandon and the greatest fashion sense the world had ever seen.

The shoes I saw this summer were very, very new Punky Brewster.

But alas, the shoes were not made for people like me. Grown-ups don't get anything cool. There I said.

It might be for the best.

I’d get strange looks if I showed up nearly anywhere wearing one mostly purple and pink and one mostly yellow and red shoe.

Mismatched girls’ shoes is apparent ‘a thing.’

As I was told, the little girl’s shoes came that way in the box.

Back in my day, you had to convince a parent to buy two shoes of the same type to achieve the ultimate Punky Brewster effect.

I coveted the official Punky Brewster brand shoes.

The closest I ever got was a pair of shoes with two different colored shoe strings. Sometimes I wore mismatched socks to grade school.

Twisting the words of the famous Loretta Lynn just a bit, “we’ve come a long way” for the babies.

Today’s grade-school girls not only have Punky Brewster shoes straight from the box, but their shoes come in a wide variety of magical colors and patterns — twinkling stars to pink leopard print on brown canvas.

There are shoes that blink, glisten and come in neon colors.

It ain’t fair, I say.

I am happy that the lucky among today's Punky Brewsters get their shoes so easily, but what about me?

Women’s sneakers aren’t exactly boring. There are some fun patterns on the market.

But they just aren’t Punky enough.

Contact this blogger at arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com or Twitter.com/DDNSmartMouth

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