Under fifty cents a year

They cost under five dollars over ten years ago. Obsolescence hit them both this week, in the form of adhesive failure. This is a pair of clunky plastic men's sandals with Velcro fastenings, sort of primitive coarse Tevo-type footgear. They came from the try-it-on-yourself rack at the south Kmart that's now gone. I bought them when the two-dollar Tevo lookalikes from the zori aisle at Walgreens came unglued. Those had lasted about four years. I guess you get what you pay for. The failure occurs where one side of the ankle-strap is glued between layers of the sole. These have been good items for wearing with socks around the house and for running out in the rain to pick up the morning papers because they're easy to unfasten and discard on the porch by the door. Since both sets of straps on these are adjustable and they really have a high molded arch, they have been very comfortable and have stayed well with the foot. They've always accumulated and discharged static electricity, though. They're made of synthetic materials and they lack rippled, wavy soles and are not of leather, but even so they're just a bit like the basic Famolare sandal of years ago. I wonder whether Bean's will still let you send an outline tracing of your feet and then select the perfect size in whatever footgear is ordered. It's been a long time since I tried that, although I used to do it all the time.