Ode To Cheap Footwear

i'm wearing my flip-flops today. they're the grey gap ones i wear quite often, whenever the weather is nice. as i sat in class today, i got to thinking about these flip-flops. i bought them in the summer of 2002 if i'm not mistaken, although it could have been 2003. i was shopping at gap with matty. a friend had given him a "friends and family" discount card good for 25% off anything, so i tagged along to try and get in on the deal.

i don't remember if i purchased anything else that day. i may have bought a shirt or a pair of jeans or something, but it is the flip-flops i remember buying. they were hanging there on the rack on the left side of the store, towards the back, on sale for $1.97. If you're doing the math at home, they came out to $1.49 with the discount. actually, i hope you didn't get out your calculator just now, because they should have charged me $1.48, but for some reason they wanted that extra penny. still, for less than the cost of a cup of plain starbucks coffee, i had what would become a very dear part of my wardrobe.

sandals and i have never gotten along all that well. i used to have some with velcro straps, those ones that cover both the top and the back of your feet, but i never cared for them very much. also, during my cool middle school years i got some adidas adi-sage sandals, the kind with the little bumps that are supposed to massage your feet, but really just hurt like the dickens. when i lived in dallas for a few months, there was a swimming pool across the street, and sometimes i opted to walk barefoot on the blacktop, in dallas, mind you, in the summer, rather than enduring the torment of those ruthless little bumps. but adi-sage sandals were very trendy at the time, so i'd wear them with socks when i went to school, but then that sort of defeated the purpose of wearing cool sandals.

i had never really given flip-flops a shot before that day at gap. the flap that comes up between the big toe and the next one over had always irked me. it just seemed like nothing was supposed to be occupying that space. but for whatever reason, something drove me to buy these ones for $1.49. i put up with the flap between the toes until i didn't notice it anymore.

well, i'm not entirely sure which summer it was that i purchased my flip-flops, but i have worn them regularly ever since. they have given me my money's worth, i figure. this summer i actually went shopping for new ones, but i couldn't find any i liked as much, so i'll keep on trucking, so to speak, till i can truck no longer. the grey rubber soles are getting worn through, down to the layer of black, in a way that hints at my slight pigeon-toed walk. also, upon examining the bottom of the soles, you're sure to notice little criss-cross indentations, souvenirs from the time i propped my feet up at a campfire and then proceeded to walk around on grass. i have also recently noticed that on the left flip-flop, the strap that comes up between the toes is about to bust loose at any moment, rendering the entire pair of footwear useless.

to be honest, i love these flip-flops much more than when i first got them. they have become so near and dear to me that the outline of the inverted v-shaped nylon strap that holds my feet in place has left an outline of pale skin on the tops of my feet. that kind of thing happens when you are a white guy who wears flip-flops outside in the summertime on a regular basis.

so hats off, flip-flops. you've seen me through a lot of sticky situations, as the gum residue on your under-carriage can attest. we've had good times, and we've had our share of bad. you've covered a lot of ground, from crusty showers in toronto, kenya and italy to the streets of lancaster, and for that i offer my heart-felt thanks. you have lived a good life, and when you go, i hope you go with your dignity. rest assured, i won't be forgetting about you anytime soon.