On 2009-01-05, Larry Jaques novalidaddress@di wrote:
On Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:58:12 -0800, the infamous Gunner Asch
scrawled the following:

On 5 Jan 2009 05:00:44 GMT, "DoN. Nichols" wrote:

On 2009-01-03, Larry Jaques novalidaddress@di wrote:

[ ... ]

Yes, I'm correct-handed...and just don't tie 'em the same. I'd like to
have said "didn't" but haven't retrained myself yet. That's a hard
habit to break after 50+ years, y'know?

Go to pull-on boots -- cowboy or Wellingtons. I haven't tied
shoelaces in probably thirty years or so. :-)

I walk a lot and high-top boots don't really lend themselves to doing
that. Low-tops work better for me and I don't need to unlace, just
untie and open a bit.

What "untie and unlace"? Pull-ons have *no* laces. You just
grab them and pull them on or off.

You do need high socks to minimize rubbing on your calf. I
don't even notice them when walking -- unless I hit something which
would have turned my ankle with low top shoes, and I just feel the top
slap against my calf and brace my foot.

I paid a whopping $20 for my last pair and they
turned out so comfy [good arch, big lugs for traction, well padded,
flexible sole (no steel shank), eyeleted for loose lacing/easy action]
that I immediately went back for another pair, turning in a pair of
HiTecs which didn't fit after all. After a year of wear, they hardly
look broken in.

The price looks nice. I have a pair of Wellingtons which are
electrically and thermally insulated soles, oil-resistant, and steel
toed for use in my shop and for everyday use.

When I want to "dress up", I switch to cowboy boots (and try to
remember to not try to catch falling chunks of iron or steel with my
foot. :-)

And if you have ever lived in South Texas, you would understand
why you don't want laces. Grassburrs. Little things that are a cross
between a dried pea and a morningstar. When green, they collect lined
up on the laces and you have to remove them before you can undo the
knot. And the green ones are *nasty* -- something painful on/in them,
and they hold onto the laces tight enough so you need to grip them hard
enough so your finger and thumb *will* get punctured.

They hold on as tight even when dried out in the winter, but at
least they don't have that pain-inducing chemical in them.

[ ... ]

Ayup. And with lace ups, its really hard to wear an ankle holster.

That is so true! giggle I don't think I could wear one anyway. My
feet tend to pass each other quite closely and I'd probably skin my
other leg with it on each pass.

You cross the left foot to the right of the right foot? I would
put an ankle holster (if I had one) on the *outside* side of the leg.

If nothing else, it'd be too visible.
I'm not bowlegged like some Californicatin' cowboys I know.

Well ... the bowlegged comes from really *working* on horseback
most of the time, so those are real *working* cowboys, not the movie/TV
ones. :-)

Enjoy,
DoN.

--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---