Do shoes make the Man? It certainly can help create a style for the Man. In my case, it was a pair of greasy calfskin, D-ring engineer boots I wore in the 1960s. No, it was not your average cowboy or hiking boot. It was a boot created for people who had a career doing heavy work – shoveling coal on the railroad and other forms of physical labor. The leather was thick, the sole supportive, and the toe generously sized and not pointy.
I picked them up second-hand on my first major road trip at a local Salvation Army.
My best friend and road buddy suggested them because they had the arch support my flatter than pancake feet needed, were all weather, and could be handy in a fight. They were stomping boots. But comfortable stomping boots you could wear from Monday till Sunday. Then, hitchhike from Boston to Portland. And deter a fight as you, not so gently, crushed someone’s feet with them. They also polished up well for semi-dress wear.
I put them in storage at my parent’s house, and my mother, in one of her pre-Marie Condo moods, tossed them, most of my music, and all my clothes. Her agenda was to clear clutter from the closet. Luckily for her, she did not get rid of my guitar.
I’ve never found a pair of boots since that was comfortable like they were. Or made the sort of statement those boots made when you stomped onto a stage in a coffeehouse; if you were busking on a street corner or a bar, they provided a particular security from assault, too. Their absence has been noted every time I’ve hunted the shoe stores for a quality replacement.
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Nothing like a good comfy old pair of boots. You just cant find a nice replacement when they are no longer wearable can you?
I think I wrote a blog post as an ode to my favorite boots. I guess this is a genre now.
These boots are made for blogging? A la the old Nancy Sinatra song?
Maybe but I think it’s a coincidence! Originally they had blue laces (Merrell trademark) This is the moment I had to tell them good-bye, in Zürich, after having had them resoled four or five times there was no more leather for that. It was a sad day.
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A good pair of boots can get you to places to write about
True. And they can get you out of places you need to leave in a hurry!
My blog mate has a quote about boots, “ The foot may be the very first appendage of the English gentleman to pass through a doorway, and thus make the key initial impression. I would never wish it said of any gentleman ‘pleasant fellow, except for his shoes’. “ . To be honest, I have yet to connect with a pair as you have. But, I can certainly relate. I wore hiking boots when I thumbed too.
Ahhh. A fellow member of the Fraternal Order of the Road!