In the middle of the night after taking a sudden fall at the gas pump, it occurred to me: “It was the shoes!”

These shoes – or should I call them ‘boots’? – are HEAVY. The expensive, indestructible H.S. Trasks weigh five pounds.

After wearing myself out on the gym treadmill walking @ three miles an hour for 14 minutes (up two minutes from the last vigorous workout) in my newly purchased near-0-pound black Skecher Pillar sneakers, I re-shoed my feet with the H.S. Tracks, recommended by my brother-in-law Craig years ago, for the trip to Costco.

Maybe it was the shoes that caused the fall over the gas hose. Maybe not. But if it was the shoes, which pair was to blame? The new light-weight gym shoes? Or the five pound Trasks I’ve worn five years without falling?

I rolled over and went back to sleep. “Nah, I’m not going to blame the shoes. It’s my story and I’m sticking with it: it was the exercise. It’s bad for my health!”

• Gordon C. Stewart, Chaska, MN, Feb. 6, 2016.