An Ode to Boots

It's a fairly well known fact that I love boots. Both on me and on others (I'm not a fetishist or anything...really...I just like boots). I currently have two pairs of boots, my Brahma brand workboots and my beloved Doc Martens. Or at least, I did.

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up with a horrible pain in my right foot. My first instinct was that my gout was actin' up again. But after limping around all day, I didn't think it was gout. It was in my heel, not a joint, my foot wasn't swollen, and it just didn't feel like gout. It took over a week for the pain to go away, and in the meantime I was limping around everywhere in agony - I even needed my cane for a couple of days. Once it cleared up, I thought little of it.

Yesterday, I wore my Docs. After a couple of hours, my right foot started hurting. I thought back: had I worn my Docs the day the Pain Train pulled into Footsville? Or perhaps the day before? Yes, I believe I did. Sure enough, I woke up today to shooting pain in my heel. Hopefully, it won't progress to limping or needing my cane. Whether it does or not, it's clear the Docs have worn down and are putting my feet in a horrible position when I walk, and it's time to retire them. I could probably get them repaired at considerable expense, but it just isn't worth it. I've gotten plenty of use out of them - I remember the boy was just learning to walk when we went to the store in Portland to get them.

So it is goodbye to my second pair of Docs. The first pair, given to me by a friend who bought them and then found he couldn't wear them, converted me to Docs for life. I had disliked them (putting them down as wannabe combat boots) until I wore my first pair. So comfortable, so durable - and that case, so psychedelic. They were crazy multi-colored boots that always got me comments and questions wherever I went. Typically, "Did you paint them that way?" and "Do they change color?" (they looked kind of like Hypercolor products, but with more colors). I wish I had a picture of those bad boys, they were unique and very cool.

Or almost unique. When I first started working at my current place of employ, I was sitting in the cafeteria with my training classmates, who loved my crazy boots. Suddenly one of them said, "Matt! There's a guy over there with your boots!" and pointed. I look over, and sure enough, here's this giant (like 6'5") guy with the same kind of Docs I had. I walked right up to him, toe-to-toe, gave him a stern look and said, "We have to talk about your boots. This place isn't big enough for the both of us." Luckily, he had a good sense of humor and we joked and talked about boots and stuff for a good 10 minutes. We often talked about many mutual interests (Docs, Harleys, etc.) afterward.

My current (or now former) Docs still get me the "Did you paint them that way?" question since they are black with white barbed wire markings on them. I will replace them as soon as I can afford to...Docs are so worth it. Unfortunately, looking at DM's website, the ones I really, really want don't come in my size (UK11). So I'll have to settle for the ones I just really want. Or maybe just the ones I want.

If you've read this far, thank you for putting up with my pointless musings on footwear. Mattbear out.