The Collections, episode 1. In which thirty pair hath September, or "It's gotta be the shoes."

While being quarantined at home since mid March has kept us from travels and fleamarkets, the confining experience has helped me fully appreciate my surroundings. Those surroundings include, of course, my practically perfect and perfectly supportive wife, Mari, and our beloved (spoiled) fabulously furry feline, Mamita...

...and our many collections.

Mamita loving my shoelaces during our final photo shoot

Mari and I were in the midst of lazily unpacking from an amazing three-week adventure just as the country shut down due to the coronavirus and those first few weeks at home were a bit confusing, so I mostly just settled in for long spans of reading books and watching movies (and not unpacking).

And not wearing shoes.

That's where this collection comes into play.

Spending a lot of time at home and, fortunately, not worrying about going to work or working from home (and not planning any travel adventures) left me with just a bit of free time. Not quite enough time to ponder the nature of the universe, but plenty of time to peruse many years of accumulated collections and slightly unsightly cupboards and confused closets.

My "Thirty pair hath September" FaceBook posts had my (shared with Mari) closet a bit discombobulated as I matched socks to shoes for daily photo shoots and then pondered in my best Marie Kondo frame of mind whether each pair was worthy of a home or should be released into the wild with a thoughtful thanks-for-the-memories blessing.

This funky Skechers pair was purchased from the Skechers store

on Okeechobee Boulevard in West Palm Beach in the late 1990s.

Mari and I used to make the two-day drive to visit my parents every year for New Year's.

There was also a frightening moment mid-month when I worried whether there were actually thirty pair to hath! I needn't have worried because when September 30th rolled around, five favorites, well-worn they, remained untouched (and unphotographed until today)!

You will see the initial purpose of the photographs shortly. I will provide a visual aid later.

more Skechers
Once I realized these were no longer available, I stocked up in all the pretty colors.

Now, I know that shoes aren't exactly collectable in the same way that the bric-a-brac and knickknack paddywack I've collected and blogged about for years are, but shoes do constitute a collection that most of us need-want-desire-love so it's safe to say that everyone collects shoes.

As with most of my other collectibles, some of my shoes have a story.

I had to have these.  In blue, of course.

I think this was my first foray into blue shoes and I never turned back. My excuse for spending the money at the time was that I needed new shoes for my sister-in-law's wedding.

Thanks, Lori!

more blue (with appropriately matching socks)

When I first purchased the wing tips below I felt a little guilty and kept them in the box for about a week. During that week I was stopped for going through a red (it was still yellow!) light on my way to work slightly past 7:45 AM. After paying the ticket (which was the EXACT price I had paid for the shoes), I knew what the universe was telling me, so back to Dillard's they went. Fast forward about a year and what do I find on clearance at Nordstrom Rack? In my size?

Twice-bought shoes never felt more comfortable.

During that year since they were initially purchased, I hoped I had proven that I was now worthy.

I don't have much use for snow boots in South Texas, having experienced only the briefest of snow showers twice since my arrival in 1989, but I thought I should be prepared for any kind of muckety-muck slushy-slush Mother Nature had in store. These came in handy during our delayed-delayed Spring Break trip to New York City during Winter Storm Stella in March of 2017. 

You remember, right?

When we missed Hamilton?

Now, if you know me you know that I am all about the souveniring and the fleamarketing and the bubblewrapping and not necessarily about buying anything too bulky for return flight packing like a pair of shoes. However, two pair currently in my closet did make their way into my collection from European travels.

Warnemunde, Germany, July 13, 2017

first stop on our Baltic cruise

That's them in the bag I'm holding!

An awesome Mediterranean cruise landed us with an afternoon to shop in Florence. That's when these found their way into my already crowded American-sized suitcase.

Forget my favorite blue... I was seeing red!

There I am with the bust of sculptor Benvenuto Cellini on lookout

(and just a few tourists) on the Ponte Vecchio, July 20, 2013.

As you might imagine, living in tropical climes necessitates owning sandals. Most of these are Birkenstock, so say what you will... call me a noodge or a liberal or a hippie if you must, but they are comfortable. I don't usually wear them with socks, but I wanted to show off my Icelandic wool socks (also a souvenir) in the first photo, below.

For anyone keeping score, the next two pair did not make the cut of my "thirty days" postings, so here is a special treat for you!

This final water-friendly pair (yes, four pair of Birkenstock) was purchased for that very same Mediterranean cruise and have been my constant pool and beach companions whenever we travel.

Another pair of sandals, Skechers this time, and two pair of über casual Skechers loafers.

As you can see, I am more of a casual shoe aficionado. Even my "dressy" shoes are casual. I'm also all about the loafer. My previously blogged meatloafing adventures not withstanding, I fully appreciate (and embody) a casual loafer (and snappy socks).

These Dr. Martens are about as "dressy" as I can stand. And, yes, it's the same shoe in two different colors. Just. Because.

Then there's the boat shoes. For someone who had never been on a cruise until he was 43, I sure grew up with a lot of boat shoes. Today, there are two favorite pair left in my collection.

So, I'm always ready to set sail, but, as previously stipulated, I don't know my jib from my jab, so simply hand me a drink in a pineapple or coconut and let me get out of your way.

Come on.  Do you really have to ask?

These are my most recent acquisition.

I haven't quite made up my mind about them yet, but I think they just need some attention.

One of our recent quarantine finds on television has been a quirky little show called "Collector's Call" which airs on Sunday nights on MeTV. You may have spotted it while channel flipping, which is how Mari and I came upon it. It's a fun watch for collectors everywhere, especially those with a fondness for its host, Lisa Whelchel.

It's Blair from "The Facts of Life!"

We have learned a lot as Blair (I mean, Ms. Whelchel) visits collectors in their homes and brings along an expert to value items and to educate audiences about the collectibles accumulated-stockpiled-hoarded by these everyday folk. A recent episode featured a shoe collector who could have easily opened his own athletic shoe superstore.

I think it would be safe to assume, dear reader, that I am not that collector.

Along with the thirty pair which September did hath, there was also the additional pair of black Skechers Sport Klone (now pictured above), two additional pair of Birkenstock sandals (also pictured above), three pair of sport sandals that are scattered at strategic places around our home because somebody doesn't approve of me walking around in my socks, two pair of camera-shy black trainers waiting for some training by the front door, and these final three.

I love these Jambu because they hug my feet and are easy to slip on and off with their bungee-laces.

It's probably the only casual shoe I ever really need... but don't tell the others!

Finally, we have the shoes that got me through a very difficult time last year. Many of you know that I came down with ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) in April of 2019 that was caused by walking pneumonia. It is still one of my life's biggest mysteries how that all came to be as I was simply quietly enjoying my first year of retirement and anxiously awaiting Mari's upcoming retirement at the end of May. I don't know how it happened, I just know it knocked me out.

The answer to why it all happened is not a mystery to me. I was given a second chance at life. When the doctors told Mari and me that I had NO chance of recovery without being intubated, but a 60% chance of survival with intubation, there was no question, of course.

When I woke up from my coma after 10 days, the last conversation I had had with Mari was still filtering through my mind and still permeates my thoughts daily. Love and prayer and family and friends and the expert loving care of dedicated medical women and men (a few former students among them) saw me through the many challenges I faced during my month in the hospital and ensuing three weeks at physical rehabilitation.

And of course, a good supportive pair of shoes didn't hurt, either.

I was no longer ambulatory after lying in bed for a month and could do nothing for myself. Walking again was a monumental physical and mental struggle, but once I finally got going, you couldn't stop me. I wanted to live and I wanted to move on.

These navy blue Skechers slip-ons got me through my three weeks in rehab and then through my twenty out-patient physical therapy sessions. At first, I had to use a special tool to pull on my socks and shoes myself, but when I finally regained enough strength and mobility, I loved the empowerment I received when I could slip on these blue beauties myself.

Right now, they are my go-to Covid Era shoe. Mostly now, I look forward to my three outings every three months to three wonderful doctors who have been taking great care of me as I continue to recover. My blue Skechers come along for the ride every time.

When I was able to travel again last fall, Mari took me to a local Skechers store and I picked up a second pair of these as-comforting-as-meatloaf loafers, the gray blend below.

It's always good to have a spare pair.

If you really must know, the main reason I started photographing my shoes was so I could label the shoe boxes in my closet, but as I opened up each box and starting looking over my shoe collection, I realized that they all had good memories and stories to tell, so I thought I would share them with you, dear reader.

You don't have to walk a mile in anybody's Skechers to know that now is the time for all of us to support one another and look out for each other. Thanks for walking a few steps in my shoes!

Here's the whole collection.