A woman on a forum I frequent recently made a post about a pair of combat boots she had for 11 years and regretted getting rid of. Her post made me think about a pair of boots in my closet that I’ve owned for over 20 years and can’t bring myself to part with. I’m not a pack rat and for me to keep something like this is rare.

I can’t remember exactly when I bought these boots; I do remember that I bought them in high school. I remember wearing them to basketball games and when I was 18 and delivered pizzas. I wore them to my first frat party and they have been around longer than I have kept any guy in my life. These boots have been resoled in three times, walked on four continents and more countries than I was sober enough to remember. I have fond memories of running through the backstreets of Venice in the rain with a hole in the left sole and my foot getting soaked.

Throwing away these boots would be like throwing out a huge part of my past. They were versatile enough to wear with long skirts, leggings, jeans and I have even polished them up and worn them with dress pants. I no longer wear them and they sit in my closet desperate for a fourth resoling. I would love to know how many miles I walked in my favorite boots, I assume its a lot to have worn through four pairs of soles. If I ever decide to part with these boots I think they will deserve to be given a proper burial and not be turned into landfill.

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