“I like the way my own feet smell. I love to smell my sneakers when I take them off.”
It’s overcast and chilly. The sun keeps trying to break through, but the clouds still hold sway. I went out for breakfast, as I do every Sunday, and I met my friend at our usual spot. It was almost empty. I figure a cloudy Sunday is seldom an invitation to be out and about early. It’s a take your time, drink lots of coffee and read the papers sort of day.
We wore sneakers when I was a kid, and every summer we’d get a new pair. Most times they were Keds. Red was my favorite color. I tied my own sneakers, but the bows were seldom tight enough. The laces would often come undone. My mother would then step in and help. I’d lift my foot to her and she’d rest it on her upper leg while she tied the laces in a double knot. Those knots were so secure they never untied even when I tried. At night, I’d pull and pull on the laces but couldn’t find the key to unlocking those knots. I’d end up prying off the sneakers, still tied. The next day I’d wiggle my foot into my tied sneaker and push until the toes reached the end. Sometimes, in the process, I’d flatten the back of the sneaker and have to stick my finger in like a shoehorn. It was never easy.
When I got older, only tennis sneakers would do, white and narrow at the toes. No longer was tying the bow a problem for me. The biggest challenge was keeping the sneakers white. Any mark was a catastrophe. Sometimes the sneakers could go in the washing machine. My mother would them hang by their laces on the line to dry. In between washes, white shoe polish hid the spots, but it had disadvantages. The white rubbed off on socks and clothes and the insides of the sneakers stayed damp for a while. It was never easy being a fashion icon.
I still call them sneakers and have a couple of pairs. One pair came with a fancy name. They weren’t sneakers. They were leather fitness shoes. The other pair is hot pink and made by Converse. They are the real deal.
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April 11, 2010 at 3:19 pm
I remember the Keds days and a thought came to me about those kids who also bought those bikes with the radios on them. Remember those goofy bikes? They had speakers on both sides of the frame and you could never get the radio to blast away. It had one volume control and a person had to really get close to the bike to hear the music. I forget what the bikes name was but it will come to me in a magic moment. And YAY! tennis shoes. I couldn’t wait to buy my first pair.
April 11, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Huffy’s “radio bike?”
April 12, 2010 at 9:32 am
Rita,
New to me too!
April 12, 2010 at 9:34 am
Z&Me,
I never heard of a radio bike, none in my neighborhood any way. The one electronic marvel I remember was the turn signal control on my brother’s bike.
Tennis shoes yell summer to me!!
April 11, 2010 at 3:43 pm
It´s been a rather nice day over here. If it hadn´t been for the slightly cold wind it had been fantastic 🙂
I found my fathers old postcard collection today. It was quite fun to look through it, some of the cards were over 100 years old. Strangly enough people liked to write on the front side too back in the days. I also found two cards from Boston. One with the photo of Boston College, Chestnut Hill. The other one shows two streetcars.
I always got a pair of clogs every spring. Back then all people had them and they lasted a summer and a bit into the autumn. Nowdays they are rather expensive and to be honest, one twists the ancles at least once every summer whan using them 🙂
Have a great day now!
Christer.
April 12, 2010 at 9:25 am
Christer,
We get a wind too-the same one which cools us all summer keeps us chilly all spring.
I love old postcards and the messages people thought to write. Did he know people living here or people visiting? I bet the scene on Boston College is still there today.
Clogs didn’t become popular here until the 70’s or 80’s. I know what you mean about twisting your ankle.
April 12, 2010 at 10:44 am
No I think he got the cards from friends and some he bought himself. He was a sailor and went all over the world. Some of those old cards are just so beautiful.
I can´t imagine the scene from Boston College can change that much. Stone buildings and some trees cut in round shapes.
April 11, 2010 at 6:51 pm
When I was in in elementary school, little girls wore sandals or Mary Janes. Once Keds arrived, we wore red Keds. It was red for the girls and blue for the boys. In junior high school, we wore what was called Rock ‘N Rollers for a while. They were a saddle oxford, but tapered at the toe and they had a buckle in back. If you were going steady, you buckled the buckle. We also wore white Keds WITH NYLON HOSE! LOL And, we kept them white by using shoe polish on them! We wore those white shoes all the way through high school too, if I remember correctly. You have to add penny loafers into the mix and “flats” (today’s ballerina style). We were not allowed to wear pants or shorts, so you wore the Keds for casual attire and flats if you dressed up a bit.
April 12, 2010 at 9:27 am
Rita,
We wore sturdy shoes to school. The Mary Janes were for Sunday or best. I remember those shoes with the buckle in the back, and I also remember wearing stocking with sneakers. It was the fashion rage for a while. My foot usually sweated and slid in the sneakers if I wore them.
I went to a high school where we had to wear a uniform. We had to wear black penny loafers with nylons. No pants there either.
April 11, 2010 at 7:18 pm
“I like the way my own feet smell.”
… but one gets a bad case of road rash when one’s nose runs.
Cheers
April 12, 2010 at 9:27 am
Minicapt,
Funny!!
April 12, 2010 at 8:02 am
dearest kat
i remember the aggravation of trying to get those shoes back on the next morning! i have found crocs now and although many say they are ugly they are like walking on a mattress; talk about happy feet!
yesterday i gave the dog a bath with the hose for the first time; i think cistern water would have been warmer. we both got wet and enjoyed the warmth of the sun and smelled like wet dog the rest of the afternoon
Spring is officially here!
April 12, 2010 at 9:29 am
splendid,
I am not a crocs wearer. All summer I wear sandals, and in the winter, I have comfy shoes I love.
Gracie has had only one bath. She actually smells good even without one. I’d probably take her into the outside shower. That way we’d have warm water for her.
April 12, 2010 at 8:28 am
We had a pet raccoon when I was a kid. We walked him on a leash but he would only follow if we were wearing red sneakers. He liked red things. We walked him through the First National grocery store one time and he pulled a bunch of Campbell Soup cans off the bottom shelf. We were asked to leave. 🙂
As for tying sneakers; hardly ever after the first time. The top edge of the heel counter is always the first thing to wear out on my sneakers. I still wear red sneakers when I can find them.
April 12, 2010 at 9:31 am
caryn,
How funny about the raccoon. He didn’t mind the leash? The First National was hardly tolerant!I’d think a raccoon would be a crowd pleaser.
I seldom wear sneakers any more though I have three pairs of brightly colored Converse. They are too warm in the summer.
April 12, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Kat,
The raccoon was happy to follow on the leash as long as the leash holder was wearing red shoes. We figured that out after a bit of trial and error. I think the only reason we were not asked to leave the First National before the raccoon pulled the soup cans down was because nobody was paying much attention to us until then. It’s amazing what adults will overlook if it’s not the normal routine.
April 12, 2010 at 6:59 pm
caryn,
It is amazing that no one noticed the raccoon. I suppose he was a kin to the elephant in the room!