So, tonight I had a funeral. A funeral for one of my most favorite pairs of shoes. I’m in the midst of spring cleaning, switching out winter clothes for summer, etc. Well, that involves tackling my huge collection of shoes. So, the first pair that I decided needed to go was a very cheap pair that I purchased at Payless , December 2002 in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
This pair of shoes were amazing. I think I paid (maybe) $15 for them, and they were the perfect “bowling/cool style” sneaker. So, again this ties back to my pathetic sentimentalness (is that a word?), but these shoes have so many memories that I’ve had a rough time parting with them, such as:
-They were purchased while on a “Christmas holiday” trip with some old college friends our senior year - Lindsay, Garth, Ashley & Kristen, and Jay & Beth. What a fun trip! Anyway, I needed a pair of walking shoes, just for that particular weekend because I think I forgot them. Anyway, little did I know what an integral role this spontaneous purchase would play in the next four years of my life!
-These shoes traveled with me to
- Two weeks in Italy for New Years, 2002/2003
- My very first trip to New York City in March 2003 (ironically, the day we started bombing Baghdad)
- My second trip to New York City in May, 2003… to a Yankee’s game in the Bronx
- Roanoke, Virginia
- Baltimore, MD
- Boston, Massachusetts
- San Diego
- Tucson, Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona
- Mexico
- Minnesota
- Traverse City, Michigan
- Charlotte, NC
- Touring Washington, DC
- St. Louis
- Cincinnati
- All over Nashvegas
- and more that I just can’t remember right now…
By the last trip I took them on, to Arizona, they had become pretty worse for the wear, and as a result of probably logging more miles in those shoes than any running shoe I’ve ever owned, they had a very funky odor to them. I knew I needed to get rid of them, but I’d just kept them in the closet, unable to part ways with them. Well, tonight I knew it was time, so this is the ode to the shoe…
Thanks for all the good times, for keeping my feet from blisters, carrying me to all the wonderful places we’ve been over the last four years, and managing to keep me from looking too touristy and more “city”. You were with me the first day of my first post-college job, the first time I moved out on my own, the first time I bought a piece of property. Tonight we part ways, but we’ll always have the memories and I’ll always have the pictures. Thanks, dear shoes, for the ride er, walk!
