A Queen in a Shoe Dream
I know you are asking yourself “what is with the title?” or “what is she talking about?”. Well, come with me where I tell you about the Queen in a shoe dream.
Shoe Dog — Phil Knight was voted as November read in my Book Club. When I received the text, “guys, we will be reading a Memoir by the creator of Nike, Shoe Dog”, I sighed! I wanted something exciting, something that wasn’t going to bore me, the title on that text didn’t give me that. Little did I know, when I started reading from Dawn, I couldn't stop myself from reading. I love the book!!
I am not here to tell you everything I love about the book, I am here to talk about her, Mrs Penelope Knight. Her story started when Penny was still in Portland State University, the same University where Mr Knight was employed as an Assistant Professor in 1968, teaching Accounting 101. He met Miss Penelope Sparks, a worldly, calm, shy but charming young lady. He portrayed her beauty and smartness as;
I thought of Cleopatra. I thought of Julie Christie. I thought: Jeez, Julie Christie’s kid sister has enrolled in my accounting class…. she was hard to look away from…
…..She aced the first assignment. With the next and the next she established herself as the top student in the class. And she didn’t just get every answer right. Her penmanship was exquisite. Like Japanese calligraphy. A girl that looked like that — and whip smart?
She was offered a job at his little shoe company, Blue Ribbon, where her accounting and people management skills were seen. It was all that Phil wanted, a beautiful yet smart woman. Who wouldn’t love her? their fairytale started with the Zoo visit, restaurant date and have now been married for 53years.
For a couple of pages, I loved reading about her. Even though Phil was trying to tell us about the shoes eventually he invited us to his supportive wife’s story. He talked about her in a loving and beautiful way, which made me want to read more pages about her.
As you flip the pages you will notice that she listened, loved and believed in his shoe journey. In today’s world, such partners are rare to find. A partner who will believe in your dreams with all the setbacks, failures and brokenness while on it? Maybe.
In his words he said
…. Above all, she was learning that marrying a man with a start-up shoe company meant living on a shoestring budget. And yet she thrived.
Penny knew the state Phil was in and supported his dream with a little that they had. You will read in the Memoir, Phil describes her as his lover, friend and partner. With little they had, she budgeted to cater for the family. Blue Ribbon became her priority too. She worked and worked and worked. So ambitious!!
She was therefore the Lady in a little shoe company, she supported a dream and now enjoying the fruits of Nike. She is the Queen of Nike and deserved the sweetest closing remarks, as it reads;
Penny, The sweetest closing remarks in his Memoir From the start, going on half a century, she’s waited, and now, at last, I can hand her these hard-fought pages and say, about them, about Nike, about everything: “Penny, I couldn’t have done it without you.”
To my dear brothers and friends, you need a Penny in your life. Don’t seek for a Sarah who dumped Phil and in her words, she said, “I don't think you are sophisticated enough for me” and made him wonder if she really loved him or just saw him as a chance to rebel. Your Penny is waiting….LOL.
Supportive partners like Penny do exist, Good luck and happy reading!
