Tuesday's Tribute: Boots of Impunity

No… this is not a post like Mina's husband who took pictures of his socks and sent them to her from his cell phone— nor is this like Mommy's Martini who wonders "Where in the World Are My Feet"… but rather this is a post about my Boots of Impunity.

I used to have a pair of snowmobile boots that I got when I was in college. I recently pulled them out of my parents closet so I could go sledding with the kids, but also used them for my commute to work. I called them my boots of impunity because I could walk through anything with them on without worry. Sometime last winter they developed a crack along the sole and I quickly realized just how fearless I was with the boots on. Once patching the then 18 year old boots with duct tape looked too tacky— I got the pair pictured above.

I realized that the experiences of wearing these boots was analogous with many of life's experiences as well. Rather than pointing out a few selective analogies and narrowing your view— I will only describe the experiences and let you draw your own conclusions:

• Having the boots on made me feel impervious to the effects of the weather.
• If I wore my pants on the outside of the boot I typically got my pant legs wet.
• If it was raining heavily, I would still get my legs wet even though my feet were dry.
• Very deep puddles would still get my feet wet if I was not careful.
• When the crack developed in the boot I walked more gingerly than I would with ordinary shoes on.
• Even after getting the new boots, I still walked gingerly for a while until I trusted the new boots.
• Deep snow drifts were not a problem if my pants were worn on the outside of the boot.
• When walking in uneven ground after a snowstorm, I would notice that my socks would soon slip down off my ankles and over my heel.
• In warmer weather I could balance on one foot and put the sock back on— but in colder weather I usually bore the internal embarrassment and waited until I was inside before putting my sock back on.
• I could not walk as fast on ice as I would on snow.
• In very cold weather my feet still got cold.
• If I did not have a change of shoes I would feel overheated when inside.
• Many times I chose not to wear the boots inside even if I got my feet wet from the puddles made by the boots.
• I wound up bringing an extra pair of socks just in case.

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Yet Another Jay and Deb Production.