Boots

I feel grown up now. I got a pair of boots this weekend. Sure, they’re new boots, but the term “new boots” would be misleading; it would make readers assume I already had a pair of boots. I have had boots before, of course. But these are real boots. The ones I’ve had before were either rubber, lace-up, or moon. These are the real deal.
I’d feel tough now, but the weather turned warm again, and I haven’t had a chance to wear them yet.
Should I wish for bad weather?
I feel fairly proud about the whole thing because I don’t know if I’m a boot person or not. It feels like a change of attitude. Buying them was a chore. Well, the buying part was easy, thanks to the magic of credit cards, but the shopping part. Ick.
Luckily, though, it turns out that I have the New York Average Display size – Men’s 8 ½ - so I only need a store clerk to help me if I want the mate to the shoe (or boot) on display. That sure saves me a lot of hassle.
And now I’m the proud owner of the boots you see in the picture. You’re thinking of me in a different light now, aren’t you?

I went shopping for the boots with a friend – I needed moral shopping support for this step. And he liked the boots, too, but didn’t want to copy me. Silly, but understandable.
It’s like going to a restaurant and not wanting to order the same meal as the person you’re with. You see it in movies all the time – someone doesn’t really look at the menu, says, “I’ll have the same,” and folds the thing up to hand it, nonchalantly, to the waitperson. But there seems to be a taboo about doing this in real life. In real life it tends to be – “What are you ordering? Oh. How about we share that and I’ll order [this other thing I don’t really want] as well?”
Anyway, he didn’t try on the same boots. But I made him go back and try them on anyway, because he became increasingly jealous of these great boots. He asked for a size that was too small, couldn’t get his feet in them, and we went to eat instead of trying some more. (He doesn’t have kids, so he could, theoretically, go shopping anytime – I really just needed him for moral and style support. – Thank, P.!)
Here’s what I’m getting to. I went online to tease him with pictures of the boot and found other great ones as well.

I also nosed through the company’s “history” and found this bit of writing. I include it here for the kids in my SAT Prep class on writing. It should be easy to fix. Send me an email about it:

Frye products have a long and illustrious history; Frye boots were worn by soldiers for both sides of America's Civil War, soldiers in the Spanish- American war, and for Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders.

Really. That’s what it says. Now, do I feel less proud of my boots? No – boot manufacturers don’t need no grammar. If it were the Kenneth Cole site, I’d be crying now. But I’m – sniff – okay with this.