It’s the Shoes, Part 4

Tim turned fifty a few months before I did. Sometimes he’s easy to shop for, because he often has his eye on something. For his fiftieth, he decided he wanted a longboard (a skateboard), but his birthday wasn’t until December, and he wanted to ride over the summer. So, months early, we picked up a little something from Landyachtz.

Of course, after riding that board, he decided he wanted another one (two very different styles), so he got a second on his real birthday. That one he had to wait for.

Unfortunately for Tim, I am not so easy to shop for. As you may have guessed from my last post, I’m never in a hurry to replace things, and I don’t spend too much time desperately wishing for particular material things. Certainly I went through that stage back in the days when we were trying to set up a household, but now I don’t need much. In fact, I should be getting rid of things at this point.

Tim got it in his head that I should have a mountain bike for the rail trail. It’s not a bad idea. My hybrid has knobby but skinny tires, and wider tires won’t fit, unfortunately. But I love my (20-year-old?) bike, and there’s nothing really wrong with it, and I’ve done fine with it on the rail trail all these years (at least before Tropical Storm Irene), even though it’s a little slow on those skinnies. I 86ed the mountain bike idea for now.

When he asked what I wanted, then, I said, half-jokingly, “A diamond ring or a pair of Le Chameau.”

I’ve wanted a pair of wellies for awhile. I don’t need them. I have perfectly serviceable boots to muck around in (again, likely at least a dozen years old): Gore-tex–lined gaiter-topped L.L.Beans. They’re great. Really.

I’m not a gardener. I’m not a hunter. I do not regularly wander the moors, nor do I shoot birds or sporting clays. Still, I found that I desired the Chasseur style of the Le Chameau boot in all its alleged leather-lined loveliness. And Tim could acquire a pair half off retail—which is still double what I’d actually want to spend on wellies. (But check out the company’s video on the making of the boots. Is it the process that makes the boots so expensive? [Yes. Of course.] Or does all that money coming in make short films like this possible? [Yes. Of course.])

So that is how, a week ago, I got a pair of boots I don’t need. They are a teensy bit big, but I’ll figure that one out soon. I think I love them and might love them even if camels weren’t involved.