Yard shoes

still some life in them

 

Some of you might be the type that have shoes or boots that you bought brand-new for purposes of wearing when you are outdoors gardening or doing yard work. For many others of us, we're probably wearing "yard shoes." At least that's what I call them. Repurposed, old shoes.

It might be a pair of old sneakers that, at one time, were the "nice pair." These were the new athletic shoes (aka sneakers, tennis shoes, kicks, running shoes) that, at one time, were worthy of being worn out in public. If you paid enough and they were the right brand and style, you proudly showed them off. And you were very careful about where and when you wore them in order to keep them looking pristine.

In my case, the shoes above were never particularly special even when new. These so-called boat or deck shoes were on sale at Cabela's for $29.95 (regularly priced at $59.95.) Yeah, I'm sorta cheap. But, I've been a fan of the Sperry Topsider style shoes for a long time. And I'm not even a boat guy. So, they started out, about 4-5 years ago, looking like this:

But, you know, life is hard on shoes. Or maybe I'm just hard on them. Even trying to be careful not to let the shoes get dirty or scratched, it eventually happens. Over time, the shoes just start to get worn down and no longer look new. So, my new "I can wear these most anywhere" shoes, got relegated to the 2nd tier of shoe-dom. Now they have become Saturday-only shoes. You know, something you wear when you are running to Lowes, Home Depot, or to the gardening center. You might even wear them for a quick trip to the grocery store hoping you don't run into anyone you know since your shoes aren't exactly in the best shape.

Then, while wearing these "still sorta ok to wear in public" shoes, you notice something outside that needs cleaning up and you forget to change into your "ok to get messy" previous gen yard shoes first. And before you realize, you've spilled something, stepped into something, or some other non-recoverable accident occurs that renders the shoes no-longer-worthy-of-public-display.

And this is how we get "yard shoes." Once they become yard shoes, anything is fair game, as proven from the picture at the top of the page. Now they are 100% utilitarian (if that.) It no longer matters one bit how bad they look. They now serve only one purpose: to not be barefoot while out in the yard, garden, or driveway.

The temptation for analogy here is very strong. Prior to writing this nonsense, I conjured up all kinds of ideas about the life-cycle of shoes and how that may apply to life.

But, I resisted. I'll just let you ponder the possible lessons that might be applicable.

Hey, can we talk about that sweat-stained, salt-encrusted Brave's cap that you now only wear at home? Or that comfortable, raggedy pair of sweats you ladies own that never gets seen by another human except those that live in your house?

We all have something like this.

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