Well, I've worn out another pair of boots. That's the third pair this year. I honestly expected these to last more than a few months, at least. They were a little expensive, made by a company called Thursday, though I've now heard that this particular model, the Cavalier, has received complaints. It's too bad because Thursday actually manufactures their footwear in the US so I thought I was supporting local jobs. But these boots also had some kind of cheap dye inside that stained some of my socks.
I used to think of boots as a sort of hardy footwear, and I still seem to have that preconception, despite the fact that the experience of the last six years has taught me that boots are delicate things that must be handled and worn with great care. I used to always buy and wear dress shoes from Pay Less in the US and they'd last for years. Then, in 2019, I took it into my head that I'd become a boot wearer. I got two pairs, moved to Japan, and wore them both out within a year. They split open on the front and the back, I'd glue them, they'd split open again. Well, they were cheap boots I'd gotten for 14 dollars at JC Penney, so I figured that was probably why. I bought my first chelsea boots then, which I rightly figured would be more convenient in Japan as footwear I could put on and remove quickly. I got a brown suede pair at H&M and they wore out in about a year. Then my grandmother died and left me a little money so I thought I'd invest in an expensive pair and got a pair by Ariat. Those lasted more than a year and when they finally did become unwearable it was because they'd split open on the sides. The soles were still in perfectly good shape and I held onto them for a while thinking I might somehow think of a way to make them presentable again.
Then I got a pair of Dr Martens, a gift from my mother on my birthday last year. I got my hopes up because the website had some kind of "boots for a lifetime" slogan. I found out later that Dr Martens' boots had diminished in quality since they started outsourcing their manufacturing. That pair split open in the back but I had to keep wearing them for a few months because I didn't have the money for new boots. I finally saved up enough and got some 7000 yen boots in Osaka, figuring they'd be good for a few months. At least that time my boots met my expectations and I retired them once they'd developed holes in their soles. And I bought the Thursday boots. I arrive in Southampton to-day, I guess buying footwear will be my first order of business. Let's see how the British do.
There is a clothing store here aboard the Queen Mary 2 but they don't sell footwear. I asked Google's AI for advice and it suggested I ask for some glue at the purser's desk to repair the odd sort of cleat panels my current boots have which are coming off on both boots. The guy at the desk was bemused like I'd asked for a garden hose or a sombrero. He said the best they had was a glue stick. Thanks, Gemini. I wonder if the AIs get together and giggle over some of the more bizarre things they get humans to do.
Sonnet 2013
The double leather bought the battered foot
No hoof was down to trod the callused floor
A Santa boot was black with cookie soot
I guess that's why he uses now the door
There's something strange that moves an L at sea
A knight, I ween, traversing water ways
I think that coats evoke a furry bee
Some hives exist for just a couple days
To drizzle cheese on chips becomes a natch
O'Brien fixed the station and the ship
In future times, no boots will ever match
The left will split apart and right will dip
And so a pretty foot remains preserved
Billali showed the thing he'd long conserved
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