Story in One Sentence

Sometimes destiny comes in pairs.

Story Synopsis

Tommy Zapatas is a frustrated man. He's environmentally conscious, and he drives an electric car, but Tommy secretly wants to ride a Harley and sport a tattoo. And his job as an actuarial (in effect, a highly paid bean counter) pays well, but he wants more in life.

As a kindergartner, little Tommy was criticized for spilling blue paint on his shoes. While trying to clean up the mess, he only made it worse by smearing blue paint all over his shoes. So he painted them blue, and liked it. No one else did, not his parents, not his teacher, and not little Becca Thorpe, the love of his five-year-old life.

While now Tommy's grown up. Becca is ready to leave him. His job is a mess, and what's worse, his home owner association doesn't like the color of the railing on his porch. So he paints it blue, just like his shoes from kindergarten.

A lawsuit ensues. He loses his girl. He loses his lawsuit. He loses his job. Something snaps inside. One day he's waiting for a light to change. He sees the outline of an orange hand, telling him to stop. The outline changes to a little white man, telling him to proceed. He looks at the man. He looks at his shoes. He looks at the man again. He sees a hobby shop across the street. He goes inside, buys a can of spray paint and a small step ladder. He mounts the ladder and spray paints the feet on the little white icon on the crossing light. The little white man now has blue shoes. Tommy's happy.

All across the city, white crossing men begin to sport blue shoes as Tommy paints the town blue. Officials take notice. "It's vandalism!" they cry. But Tommy's on a mission.

A movement grows around his antics. Tommy Blue Shoes as he is now known becomes the cause cèlébre of the nation. Trouble comes as he is indicted for criminal mischief. His girl joins him in the cause, as does the town and the city.

But a rival to Tommy Blue Shoes arises. The SUV-driving, free-spending hawkish and consumerist Red Shoe Movement threatens Tommy's libertarian fun-loving agenda. Who will win the battle of the shoes? Will the reds take over or will the blues prevail?

For release two months prior to the November, 2008 presidential elections, The Legend of Tommy Blue Shoes is a comedic political satire that the blue states and the red states can agree on -- it's wickedly funny!