hating it, wearing it, befriending it, eating it ...

we went to luce last night to see my favorite local band in the whole world, cars and trucks. what i thought would be a pleasant night of live music, deviated pretty significantly.








as you can see, there was an intervention. and it all started because of one adorable pair of waterproof recycleable all-purpose footware.

i mistakenly thought that in the glow of a full bacardi diet moon, jcrew would concede that, in their own special way, these are cute shoes. while she had sneered at them when i first introduced her to them, jcrew has been known to opt for warmth and practicality on occasion. it's not mary janes and strappy sandals all day everyday for my friend.

"see, they aren't so bad," i said, posing in the bar.
"they're ugly," she spat.
i looked to seadawg for backup: he's an athlete, white bread and khakis, palm pilot sort of person who would certainly understand the appeal. he shook his head and sided with jcrew.
"ugly," he agreed.
"i don't even know you anymore," jcrew accused.

***

tis true, i suppose. when i signed onto this friendship i was a walking hangover aching for super potato oles. a bit of a moral contortionist. a trucker's vocabulary and no control over my bladder. a karoake artist. i spent a lot of time wishing duluth would take a shower with real soap. take a spin through its armpit with deoderant. rinse out its wool socks.

this adorable pair of waterproof, recycleable, all-purpose footware seem to indicate to jcrew that i have officially crossed the line into some sort of unacceptible duluthdom. it was bad enough when she surveyed my mint-flavored organic chapstick and sneered: "how new you" before handing it back to me without testing its minty tingle. now, laced into these shoes, it's like she thinks i'm going to accidentally whap her in the mouth with a clove-flavored dreadlock when i'm dancing; i might douse her with a patchouli spray if she gets too close; i could pick up a ukele and make her listen to the songs i write about free range chickens.

honestly, i didn't even know the shoes were recycleable until i got them home. i just thought they were cute, and they were exactly what i wanted in terms of utility.

this intervention went on for the rest of the night. it seems that ever since i started to like duluth -- hiking it, eating it, befriending it and wearing it -- my friends have started to hate me. there is a good chance i will alienate myself from everyone i know by the time the homegrown music festival starts. definitely before geek prom.

all this over a pair of shoes.

***

i walked back down to luce to get my car today. near ski hut the sidewalks were flooded. but i was wearing an adorable pair of waterproof and recycleable shoes. so there.