Retirement

On Saying Goodbye to Two Very Dear Pairs

I'll admit I do get sentimental about shoes. They are like friends. It's not often you find the right fit or style. I wanted to take the time to say goodbye to two shoes who have been with me since the early 2000s. Onisuka Tigers were purchased in Boston in 2002 while I was visiting N in college. Nike Cortez are an ode to Syracuse and purchased for $20 at Foot Action on a random trip to Carousel Mall with LG.

So many times I buy a pair of shoes and I wear them once and end up tossed in the depths of my closet. Oh, but not these suckers. They went with me everywhere. I've been to Europe, Honduras, East coast and West. They've touched countless sidewalks and roads. Mang, I can still remember the Tigers pinching the sides of my wide ass feet as I broke them in on my walk across Las Ramblas in Barcelona. They were with me all throughout my trip to Scotland and covered my feets as I walked into bars playing 'Songbird' by Oasis.

When they started to deteriorate, I went into denial mode. I thought maybe I should just replace the sneakers for the same pairs. The Tigers were still sold in multiple stores around SF; the Cortezes were proving to be more difficult. At the end, I knew I had to give it up when I was starting to feel the concrete through the soles of the Tigers and when there was a hole in the Cortezes.

Thankfully, the Other M was inspired to find two other sets of sneakers on his eBay perusings. Maybe I'd been overwhelmed at replacing two such good pals so immediately. Maybe I was worried I'd never find something so good again.

Either way, I was taken care of.