Topic 79: On Wearing Overshoes

Carol:

Oh My Galoshes

The last time I owned real overshoes, I was in grade school. In L.A. it rained a lot, and galoshes were a must. They not only kept my feet dry, but they  protected me  from the millions of earthworms that migrated onto the sidewalk after a storm. It took forever to pick my way along without touching, or worse,  squishing, a worm.

My mother had overshoes that fit over high heels. They were transparent plastic wedgies  that matched the transparent plastic rain hat she woreto protect her 1950’s perm. My mother’s fashion rule, what mattered most, was Sensibility over Style.

Calgary winter, 1962.

When we moved to Calgary, we bought all the gear for long, cold winters.  On weekends, I would bundle in parka, mittens and snow boots for  neighborhood  snowball wars or take the toboggan up the steep lane next to our house with our old cocker Taffy tucked in front.  I walked to school when the bus wasn’t running (they never cancelled school), so I really needed overshoes. Mine were rubber, big, warm and clunky with plenty of traction. My mother found winter twins for her transparent rain shoes, cloth boots that pulled over her high heels and had fake fur at the top. Sensible chic.

In  high school, I banished the clunky rubber boots to a box in the basement. I was into chic not sensible. My friends had been skiing since they were toddlers, and I was clumsy at best. I tried to fit in with fashion, which meant matching stretch pants and ski parka. We bought the jacket and stretch pants on a Fall trip to Spokane, at a store with  poor lighting. When we arrived back in Calgary, I opened the package to find a black jacket and brown—dark, mud-colored brown—ski pants. No amount of pleading would convince my mother that this perfectly sensible outfit, wasn’t good enough for the Banff ski slopes.

Mortification could only be offset by the perfect pair of boots, which I put on my Christmas wish list. The vogue in 1964 was sealskin; that’s what my friends were wearing with their powder pink ski ensembles, and that’s what I needed to distract from my black and brown mismatch. My mother bought me those sealskin boots, and I loved them dearly. This was back in the olden days before the documentaries showing hunters separating baby seals from their mothers and clubbing them over the head, before PETA.

After two good seasons of wearing the boots, I went away to college and began to feel uncomfortable about wearing animal fur in public. Eventually, the boots were stolen from the back of a van Marc had driven across country.  I mourned the loss of My Favorite Boots Ever, then I realized the thief had taken care of my moral dilemma of owning (and loving) a pair of boots I could no longer in good conscience wear in public or private.

Prescott winter 1986

When we moved to Prescott in the early 80’s, we bought all the winter gear, including not just the mittens, hats, and sensible overshoes but a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The weather changed over time, a lot less snow, no need for 4-wheel drive.I banished the overshoes to a box in the basement. They were ugly. 

Today’s forecast is 90% chance of precipitation. I can see a little sprinkle of white at the top of Granite Mountain, and a light mist is falling.   We have a wedding in two hours, and I will probably get my one pair of dress shoe soaked.  Maybe I have time to go down to the basement and look for, somewhere behind the boxes of children’s books, camping gear, and summer clothing, a box with  overshoes. The sensible kind.

Prescott New Years, 2010

 
Megan:

So, as I’m sitting down to write this with no idea what to say, I’m looking outside at blizzard-like conditions. Usually this would thrill me – the first big snow of the season – but tomorrow morning I’m supposed to fly to Denver to meet up with a friend. Usually I would be flying out of Phoenix, but I managed to find a flight from our tiny local airport, which seemed like an excellent idea at the time.  Instead, I’m looking at a massive snow storm which, according to the weather channel, is going to last until tomorrow night and may drop as much as 16 inches.  Needless to say, I’m not sure I’m going to make that flight.

I’m still going to act like everything will be fine. My clothes are in the washing machine, my room is on it’s way to being tidy(er) and I’ve suddenly remembered I forgot to get some appropriate footwear. Even if the snow does stop here, there’s still going to be about 20 feet to wade through in Colorado. I told my father that since skiing isn’t on the agenda, I only need to get from the car to the house and back again but I’m rethinking that now… now that it’s too late.

More stylish than the typical green pairs

In England they have a universal pair of shoes for dealing with wet weather – the wellies. Originally made of leather and popularized by the Duke of Wellington (hence the name), these mid-calf or knee-high boots are now made of rubber and are the quintessential English country footwear. Approach any house in the country (by country, I mean rural areas) you will find piles of wellies by the back door. I have never owned a pair, but on more than one occasion (including this one) I’ve wished I had. The thing is, for all the times I’ve seen them in people’s houses, I’ve only ever seen anyone wear them once or twice – usually on anglers or a dog walker plodding through the marshy fens.

Having never worn them, I always assumed they went over the shoe (which is why I mention them here), but now that I take a closer a look at Wikipedia that’s wrong. A google image search of “overshoes” reveals a whole world of seriously strange looking footwear that I cannot imagine anyone but fisherman and dog sledders or hazmat cleanup crews choosing to wear.

Anyway,  this was again one of those times where I had nothing to say, was distracted by other things and have cobbled together words into paragraphs in the shape of an essay, without any real substance. Sorry about that. But there’s a lot to do. Assuming I do make the flight tomorrow, we will be taking a break until next Tuesday because I’ll be on vacation and Mom doesn’t know how to work the website. Have a happy new year!