Thursday, February 9, 2012

Not As Comfy As I Had Hoped

I have three more postcards to put up, but.... I got crazy and I forgot to scan them in this morning, so it will have to wait. Sorry.

About fifteen years ago a friend of mine gave me a pair of shoes. His boy was in high school playing basketball and had bought these shoes for the games and, like most teenagers, had outgrown them by the time the season was over.

They were Converse All Star Chuck Taylor basketball shoes with the leather uppers. I think he said they paid close to $200.00 for those shoes. And since he only actually wore them for the games, they'd only been worn maybe a dozen times before his boy outgrew them. He said if they fit me, I could have them.

Well, fit me they did. And let me tell you, those were the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn in my life. Good fit. Soft and comfy soles. Great arch support. I wore those shoes for about seven more years before they finally fell apart and I had to throw them away.

And by that time, of course, they were no longer making that particular style anymore. That was devastating. I had to go back to other shoes that just weren't as comfortable.

A couple of weeks ago I got my comp time buyout and decided I needed a new pair of boots. A new Sportsman's Guide catalog had come in the mail and while I was looking through it, I saw Converse Duty Boots. Hey! And they are on sale!

I ordered a pair in my size and daydreamed about slipping my feet into that heavenly comfort again.

No, I don't have a shoe fetish or anything like that. Those shoes were just really comfy.

Anyway. Today my new boots came in the mail. Pulled them out and slipped them on. Brand new, of course. Kind of stiff. I wore them around the house for a couple of hours.

Light. Fairly comfy. Not as good as those basketball shoes were, though. Kind of a let down.

And fool that I am I thought "I'm in the Control Center tonight. I won't have to do much walking. I'll wear them to work!" What a twit.

You don't have far to walk, but you walk your butt off in the Control Center. Just lots of short trips back and forth between the doors and the panels.

In brand spanking new boots.

By the time I got home tonight my feet hurt like I'd been running all over camp all night long. And taking them off again was the best thing I had done to my feet all night. It felt so good to take them off I almost needed a cigarette afterwards.

Tomorrow I'll wear my old boots and just wear the new ones around the house for a few hours here and there until I get them broken in. I'm sure they'll be fine after that.

But Converse, you kind of let me down. You should quit trying to be stylish and cheap and go back to making things that feel good.

So Friday is going to be Umbrella Day (Hmm... the rain thingy or the company?), Plimsoll Day (?), World Marriage Day and Cream Cheese Brownie Day.

What the snap is a plimsoll?

11 comments:

  1. If I could go everywhere in my socks, I would. Stupid shoes.

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    1. Amy- I'm a boot guy, myself. I live in them. But I do hate breaking in new ones!

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    2. My hub has 13 (!) pair of boots. 6 pairs of sneakers, and a pair of dress shoes.
      I own three pairs of shoes. a comfortable sandal, a high heeled sandal, and a slip on suede. and a pair of slippers. It's like I live with a woman....

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  2. Oh, plimsolls. A nostalgic word, if you went to an English school in the Fifties. You had to wear them in PT (physical training). They had to be black. The soles were usually a pale crepe rubber. You could get cheap versions in Woolworths.

    Long before the days of fancy 'trainers'.

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    Replies
    1. Vincent- At least i got you a short jog down memory lane, right?

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  3. The kids still wear them in primary schools for indoor PE (Physical Education) as its called these days

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    Replies
    1. Ang- School uniform shoes, eh? Looks like they have been around for a long time.

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  4. Nike used to make shoes that Cliff and I adored. They stopped making that model, and we haven't found any comfortable Nikes since.

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    1. Donna- Isn't that always the way? They make something good at first to make money then they just go make junk to sell to trendy kids. Pfui.

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  5. I know the feeling. Breaking in new shoes is a tricky endeavor.

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  6. I had a pair of the Converse like you had. One of the most comfortable shoes I've had. When my DeVille was stolen the bastards took my Cons and totaled my car in a ditch. I miss the car and the shoes

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