Footloose

--> Are you trying to downsize? Yeah, me too. I decided to check out my footwear.

 Shocking, isn't it?

Inventory says . . . twenty eight pair. Yes I was shocked also. When Tom & Jeanette Egan drove across country to Massachusetts from California everything they owned was in their Volkswagen Beetle. It must have included their footwear.

Here is my inventory list . . .

A just-like-new pair of black wing tips. I'll bet I have worn these less than ten times. Purchased at a Stetson shoe outlet in South Weymouth circa 1965. They are as heavy as a truck tire.  

2014 - 1965 = 49 years old.

One pair high green rubber boots.  ???

Two pair of steel toe work boots. One brown and one black. Used for chain sawing and wood splitting. One was a legacy gift.

Dancing shoes/boots, one pair, leather bottoms for smooth two-stepping and waltzing. High around the ankles for when you get kicked.

Rick Steves type brown walking tie shoes for serious walking vacations.

 An advertisement in Cowboy & Indian magazine said, "Ah was wearing these boots when I conceived my first child." Scary! Also quite a minds-eye picture. Was it next to his pickup at WalMart or the Golden Corral, or was it out in the desert? Never mind. TMI. I own three pair. Doesn't everyone?

• Brown cowboy boots purchased in Brockton Massachusetts in 1971.  

2014 - 1971 = 43 years young.

• Black pair purchased in Tijuana (it's in Mexico) in 1988.

• Green and red, my favorites, from Missoula Montana. The boot remover came with it. I don't remember the year but it was 25 vacations ago with Donovans and Zabeks.  Glacier National Park and Waterton in Can-e-dah. We saw our very first grizzly there.

One pair of brown loafers and one pair of white loafers (only kidding) . . . I mean black loafers. What did you wear as a teenager? I only wore loafers. Interesting name, loafers.

Black slip ons with rubber bottom for wet weather. Sort of like duck boots which I don't have any more. Make a note to buy some.

Tevas. Two pair. The old worn-out cracked ones I wear while driving home from a hot day on the job. The Cerris always call them Teeevas. I thought it was Tev-ahs. I called the company. The correct pronunciation is Teeevas. When we land in Mexico they are the very first things that I change into.

U.S.N. black dress shoes. I got them for free in 1963.  

2014 - 1963 = 51 years old.

How many times have I spit-shined them? Still perfect for formal stuff. Wore them with blue wool bell-bottoms. The pants came with 13 buttons on the front. 13 either signified the thirteen original states or thirteen chances for a girl to say no. Each button had an anchor imprinted on it. I still have the top (jumper) hanging in Garage Mahal with the stripes and hash marks and white piping.  

Green slip on walking shoes, a gift from my brother in law Brian.

Ice skates are footwear. I have had mine since I was fourteen.

2014 - 1959 = 55 years old.

Remember as a kid when you all held hands and skated in a line and then whipped it, which sent the last few people flying? Me neither.

One pair of deerskin-color work boots for appointments only so that I look like a workman who knows what he is selling.

Snow shoes. The name alone says they fit into this inventory. I use them two or three times a year.

White running shoes. I walk in them daily. When I ran, a pair of running shoes would last me 500 miles.

500 into 54,000 miles = 100 pr.

That is 2.3 pair per year for 23 years.

Slippers are shoes also. I have three pair. One has rubber bottoms for getting the mail or feeding the birds on rainy days. One pair was a gift.

One pair of purple Keds with red laces. Another footwear gift from Brian. I haven't worn them yet. Maybe when the rodeo comes to the Marshfield Fairgrounds, I will give them to one of the cowboy clowns.

So now you know every thing about my footwear.  Next up . . . tee shirts!

Thanks for listening. The fact that you were taking notes means that you were listening.    

Mil de gracias,    

Roberto

P.S.  Dad's New England Lime Company (Pfizer) steel-toed work boots are retired and hanging in Garage Mahal. I didn't count them in the 28 pair. I did not count the bronze baby shoes that Mom had made for me either. I wanted this to be factual. I would NEVER lie to you, mi amore.