Saturday, July 25, 2009

Requiem



Today we say goodbye to a pair of old friends--friends that have carried me, supported me, and made me look good in the clutch. My friends are tough and forgiving. They're never out of place. They also turn the bottoms of my feet black, which you'd think would have stopped by now.

I bought this pair of Reef skinny-strap flip-flops in May of 2001. I've worn them every day, March to November at least. They've been to Turkey, to Austria, to Croatia, to Slovenia, to Italy. They're bicoastal. They've been to Disneyland at least five times. I wear them with jeans and with shorts and with dresses and with my PJs. They get wet, they get dusty, and then they get muddy; they go through rivers and into lakes and along beaches. They have, due to some miracle and also to the strength of my toes, never been dropped off of a roller coaster and ended up on the roof of some amusement park outbuilding. They are magical flip-flops. Were I Jewish, I would consider nominating them for some kind of holiday: eight years from one year's worth of black foam! As it is, I'm thinking of having them bronzed.

Thanks for the memories, flops.

And to the new kids in town, welcome. You've got some big shoes to...

Never mind.

6 comments:

Xerxes said...

This is the first shoe / boot / flip flop song that came to mind...

You keep saying you've got something for me.
something you call love, but confess.
You've been a messin' where you shouldn't have been a messin'
and now someone else is gettin' all your best.

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'
and you keep losin' when you oughta not bet.
You keep samin' when you oughta be a changin'.
Now what's right is right, but you ain't been right yet.

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

You keep playin' where you shouldn't be a playin
and you keep thinkin' that you´ll never get burnt.
Ha!
I just found me a brand new box of matches yeah
and what he knows you ain't HAD time to learn.

These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do
one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you.

Are you ready boots? Start walkin'!

Alison Henry said...

It is the end of an era. You should do some sort of funeral. Maybe viking funeral??

Xerxes said...

Yeah but burning rubber doesn't smell all that great (I suppose neither did a burning Viking, probably why they but him in a boat first)! Besides the burning rubber isn't good for the environment. You could donate them to one of those places that shreds rubber and uses the shredded material in playgrounds.

susan f. said...

I know you revere your flippie floppies, but... may I point out how terrible they are for your feet and back? Besides, you are from CA - aren't you supposed to wear birkenstocks???

Liz said...

Hee, I don't know that the shoe-recycling place would get enough out of my sad little worn-down shoes to make it worth their while. I do love the Viking funeral idea, though. Or maybe a pirate funeral, where I wrap them in a sail(?) and...drag them somewhere wet. Heh.

Liz said...

Susan, you are welcome to point it out, but I won't promise to not plug my ears. :) But I appreciate the concern for my podiatric health. :)