Green suede…knee-high with pointed toes…high heels… the boots were adorable and the height of 1960’s fashion. It was love at first sight and somehow, I found enough money to pay for these lovely creations.
My feet froze when I wore them. The soles were treacherously slippery. I didn’t care. With a mod mini skirt and dark tights, the green suede boots looked good.
I wore them until … moving to northern Minnesota where the world of Sorels entered my life.
Sorels were big. They were clumpy. Thefelt liners left a trail of lint fuzzies on socks when removed, but they kept my feet warm and dry. Today’s Sorels are stylish and look great. Not the originals. But when the thermometer plunges to -40F, who cared?
For years, I plodded through the brutal winter landscape, happy to have warm toes.
Sorels were surpassed only by LaCrosse Paks—the ugliest boots ever to cover my bunions. I wore them while gate keeping at downhill ski races. These camouflage green boots were big brutes with unsightly thick soles but a LaCrosse Pak never allowed cold to seep through its thick insulation, no matter how long I stood on the icy hills of Lutsen Ski Hill or Spirit Mountain.
I could have won a handsdown prize for wearing the most unattractive boots of any ski racer’s mother, but by gosh, my feet never got cold.
This should have been the worst humbling experience for a former boot fashionista, but the year 2010 tops everything.
This year I bought ice grippers. And I love them.
These devices come in many forms with names like “ice-traction cleats,” “Get a Grip Ultras,” “Monster Grips” and “Stabilicers.” They can be slipped on any boot with the basic function of keeping people from falling on ice.
After several years of denial, I finally admitted that my legs and feet weren’t doing as well on ice as they once did. I watched younger people prance lightly over the most treacherous ice spots without a care. I watched people my age slowly drag feet across ice, only to lose balance and crash to their keisters.
I experienced one teensy weensy misstep on the sidewalk of my front door during an especially icy April and spent the next six months nursing a badly bruised but thankfully unbroken shoulder. Two good things came of this. I finally admitted I needed ice cleats and a bad shoulder is a great excuse for a bad golf score.
Now when I walk my dogs, I slip into winter boots with soles that are covered with slip-on Yaktrax ice grippers and away we go.
Sheets of ice may cover the South Shore Drive and lay in ambush on my front deck steps—I have no fear. As long as my feet are covered with ice grippers, I am safe.
I’m almost looking forward to the annual spring ice storm that holds the world in a treacherous, icy grip.
Go ahead ice storm—make my day!
When life gives you lemons, you
make lemonade….. When life
gives you ice, you buy ice grippers…
Leave a Reply