Boot boots, shoo shoes ... hello, sandals!
Since March roared in like a lion, it’s supposed to go out like a lamb. Here’s a word to the wise: before swapping shoes for sandals, one must first boot the boots!
The thought of treating one’s tootsies to sunlight and fresh air is uplifting. The challenge of removing crusty salt from trusty boots is daunting. Cleaning leather boots is a chore; restoring suede boots requires superior effort. Regardless of whether rock salt was abundantly applied until supplies ran short, or conserved for later in the season, the trade-off for traction is tolerating salt’s mess!
Here’s an idea for a new personal service: boot cleaning stations, perfect for short-term storefront leases. Whenever snowplow drivers perform loads of extra duty, a bumper crop of boot-cleaners could follow!
Otherwise, we’re left to our own devices. An office assistant once advised a co-worker sporting salt-stained leather shoes that dabbing coffee on affected areas would eliminate the salty outlines. (As long as no cream or sugar was added first; lattes are definitely out!)
Sacrificing sips from a comforting cup of coffee that warms hands and nourishes souls is never easy. After her desire to maintain a professional appearance prevailed, the coworker gave it a try. To her amazement, the dabs of coffee quickly dissolved the sodium chloride residue!
Reluctant to relinquish any more coffee that winter, she resolved to double-check each morning’s forecast before heading out and to keep spare boots in her car should the forecast fail.
That was a close call appearance-wise, but what about the women who routinely defy winter hazards by shunning mukluks and traipsing through snow in designer pumps or, worse yet, stiletto shoes?
Aspiring to project a sense of haute couture, these fashionistas overlook the possibility that others may view them as having little sense – fashion or otherwise! Before sporting footwear unfit for snow and ice, they might first consider the style statement of a cast extending to the knee or beyond, and a frumpy shoe on the other foot to balance the load!
It is plausible that well-crafted stiletto boots with steel-shafted heels might function as ice picks, though, providing a unique form of traction for those who dare.
Not all women are smitten with stilettos. They wear like instruments of torture. It’s surprising that they don't come with warning labels. They should be shooed because they’re unsafe. Informed accounts advise that they’re neither good for feet, legs, nor posture. The first skirmish in the proverbial battle of the sexes could have easily been instigated by this foot-cruel design!
Before saying “shoo” to shoes and slipping on summer sandals, sure-footed folk will don rain boots for sloshing through puddles resulting from spring showers and significant snow melt. Remnants of parking lot snow piles could last until Mother’s Day!
Thankfully, practical vinyl-coated rubber galoshes come in a variety of colorful, fashionable designs and rain-cleansed sidewalks eliminate the need to share precious coffee with one’s shoes! Now that’s a comforting thought!