MYSTERY BOOTS

As I mentioned in the last posting, my feet were awfully cold after a morning and some afternoon in Katie-Boo's shoes. I decided to give the only winter boots I have (that aren't my own) a whirl.


These boots, unlike the other shoes I have, belong to I know not who. Or belonged, I suppose. I found them on my way home from school one day, on the side of the road with a bunch of other shoes, and a box that said "free stuff." I thought it would be interesting to try and wear shoes that were in limbo--presumably outgrown and without an owner.


They seem pretty well worn, but not as dirty as I would expect kids boots might be. The zippers were kind of stiff. They are grey and beige (once white?) children's boots, with a kind of quilted upper part, and a grey rubber bottom part (clearly I need to learn proper shoe terminology).


I lasted even less time in these boots than in Katie's shoes. I really only made it to the corner and back. Although challenging to walk in shoes that are much much to small for my feet (only the ball of my foot fit inside), it was really quite fun. I noticed that the way I walked in them (short, awkward and uneven steps) reminded me an awful lot of the kind of uneven and unselfconscious gaits that kids have. Little kids. Perhaps littler than the size of person that would fit in these boots. So while I don't know that I am any closer to understanding the person or people who have worn these boots, it made me smile.



It also made me extremely embarrassed when a woman passed by. She smiled strangely at me. I had a feeling that I haven't had so strongly in awhile--that urge to explain to every passer by what I am doing, or to wear some kind of explanatory sign. Oh well.

These boots made me think about the limited lifespan or usefulness of shoes...about little feet that grow and go through shoes quickly, versus feet like my own that have some shoes that have witnessed a decade or more of a life. About shoes being left by the side of the road to hopefully find usefulness elsewhere. About shoes that have carried and protected many feet.
And about how all of this might sound just awfully clichéd, for which I apologize.