Well, I’m back from New York. Damn, my feet hurt. Pro-tip: Never try to break in new shoes by walking all over Central Park.
I wouldn’t normally be that stupid, and I wasn’t parading around in heels like some I could mention, I assure you.
Quite the opposite: I’m something of a fanatic on the topic of skate shoes — specifically, I think the Olds should take them over since skate shoes are padded, sturdy and skid-resistant.
After being mocked by my daughter for being an old person who wears skate shoes, I gave the concept some thought and decided that genuine old people really should wear them for the reasons mentioned above.
I got a pair for my grandma, and after appeals to her sense of practicality overcame her vanity and persuaded her to try them on, she not only became a convert, she evangelized a number of her bubby acquaintances, racking up more elderly acolytes for the Church of Vans (or Converse).
So after a New York rainstorm swamped my pair of trusty kicks, I eagerly seized that excuse to buy a brand-new pair, and such was my faith in their healing and restorative powers that I thought I could put them on immediately from the box and walk miles. Big mistake.
Anyway, open thread. Please feel free to discuss whatever as I limp around barefooted in my yard and reconnect with all my much-missed critters.
UPDATE: I added an image of skate shoes above since, incredibly, some of you don’t know what they are. They are shoes for skateboarding. I don’t skateboard (well, not more than a few feet), but I love skate shoes since they’re the most comfortable damn footwear on the planet. Make all the lesbian jokes you want; I don’t give a shit. The above pictured are my old faithful pair, not that snazzy new pair that tore up my feet in New York.
Suffern ACE
So how did the pizza fest end?
geg6
What the hell are skate shoes? Never heard of such a thing.
And I probably don’t want to know. I’m 55 and the day I quit wearing beautiful shoes is the day I want to die. Took my niece to NYC about six years ago for her 8th grade trip for 5 days. Showed her all my old stomping grounds all over the city (spent several years traveling there almost every weekend as my boyfriend was living and working there as a photographer), did all the touristy stuff, shopped our asses off in all the great shopping districts and never once stepped foot out of the hotel without a pair of heels. My feet hurt, yes, but I could never do NYC in “sensible” shoes, even if I owned such a thing. Which I don’t.
schrodinger's cat
Skate shoes? What are they? Rollerblades?
dmsilev
Texas moochers:
No. Just, no.
srv
@schrodinger’s cat: I think they’re sneakers for some weird generation.
c u n d gulag
Having been born and raised in NYC, and after my family moving upstate when I was 11, having moved back to the city for a decade plus as soon as I finished college, I walked a lot!
A lot of times, it’s faster to walk, than to take a bus or wait for a subway when you’re going cross-town. Also, uptown or downtime, depending on the time.
I basically walked a lot, when I lived there, rather than taking mass transportation, or cabs.
That also was why I wasn’t ever FAT in NY.
Everywhere I lived, I used to walk a half an hour in each direction a lot of times, just to take mass transportation.
When I lived on Staten Island, I live on a hill that took about 20 minutes to walk down, and 25 minutes to walk back up.
And, a lot of times, I walked from the ferry terminal to my job on 23rd and Park Ave rather than stand and wait during rush-hour to wait for a subway that would drop me off about 5-10 minutes away from my job.
NYC has very few fat working people.
piratedan
@dmsilev: I’m sure that he made sure to check with the Feds… almost positive!
MattF
I’m a New Balance fan, m’self. The shoelaces on their sneaks don’t fray or break. And their footwear-that-looks-like-shoes is comfortable.
Rosalita
I love my Vans, but there was a bit of blister action before I broke them in. Ouchie! They feel like slippers now.
Tommy
@schrodinger’s cat: I will just say “Rookie” and there is this thing called Google :)
A few years ago I went to a conference in DC. Place I had lived in for many years. A co-worker came early and wanted me to show her around. Had never been to the city. I told her to bring walking shoes. We walked many miles through the city. She never complained.
Afterwards she sent me picture and parts of her feet were raw. I just said Kathy I told you to bring walking shoes, how could I have not been clearer :).
NotMax
Got a pair of no-name brand sneaker-like footwear bought for three bucks forty years ago at a sidewalk sale which are still doing fine.
Suffern ACE
I was a busy beaver last week, so I apologize if this article on Philadelphia schools got posted and I missed it. I think the take away is that even if Philadelphia tracked its textbooks better, it would be unable to continue to provide its students with the books necessary to improve its test scores and will therefore never be able to improve those scores. The teachers in this case can’t teach to the test.
ranchandsyrup
FIL brought some huge zucchini down from the central coast so I’ve been “Bubba Gumping” recipes with zucchini. Zucchini fries with panko and parmesan, stuffed zucchini, zucc pasta, grilled in a pouch, etc.
PurpleGirl
Betty: I can remember walking around Central Park for hours in 3-inch high stack heels. But that was (mumble-mumble) years ago. And the guy I was with was handsome and I wasn’t thinking about my feet. These days I wear sneakers almost always.
Cervantes
@PurpleGirl:
What does that say about the guy you’re with now?
BGinCHI
Pic of you skateboarding a “few feet” or it didn’t happen.
geg6
@ranchandsyrup:
Ha! I’m in that very mode myself. So many zucchini and summer squash in our garden! We’ve been giving away loaves of zucchini bread to everyone we know.
Tommy
@PurpleGirl: Clearly I can’t speak for all men, but pretty sure I’d find you more sexy in a pair of sneakers then high heels. In fact if I was with you and saw you in them, I’d suggest we go bare foot. You know, just saying.
srv
This is actually a good idea. OldSkaters…
I’ve had so many near slips in the wet season that I buy service-industry shoes, like the Keen utilities. Have to special or web order them though.
Suffern ACE
@PurpleGirl: are you suggesting that Betty’s foot problems would go away if we found her a hot charmer to walk with? I think we could arrange that for her the next time she visits. Social sharing services like airbnb and uber are the rage now. I think we could start a service called airstud, the über for walking companions. Get lots of vc funding.
Betty Cracker
@geg6: I added a picture above. I can’t imagine wearing heels around NYC — or even to walk to my mailbox, actually. I tried a pair as a teenager and felt like a cat on stilts.
Iowa Old Lady
I never wear heels. You might as well practice foot binding.
BGinCHI
@ranchandsyrup: Recipe for fries, plz.
ranchandsyrup
@geg6: good luck geg! It’s a delicious problem to have.
NotMax
@c u n d gulag
You betcha. Back when was working in Manhattan, we had 2 hours for lunch. And working through lunch was frowned upon, so most days just ambled about the streets for 120 minutes.
Discovered many out of the way shops, such as a Hungarian bakery in the mid-eighties on the east side which, as discovered after bringing one to a party, made the best apple pie ever encountered.
Tommy
@srv: Oh you said Keen. I have a pair of their sandles. Cost a ton of money when I got them. I think that was 1996. I bet I have walked maybe 20,000 miles in them (I am a hiker, walker). Best shoes I’ve ever bought. Blew them out the other day and I might need to think of actually fixing them.
mack
I’m somewhat of a shoe connoisseur, and while I own a pair of vans, I wouldn’t think of doing any significant walking in them. Not made for that. For the money, it’s hard to beat Merrill, but I’m also quite partial to Rockport. They just last and last, and I have trekked thousands of miles in mine. YMMV.
Chopper
I have arrived in Atlanta. unpacking a moving truck and it’s humid as a bozack.
schrodinger's cat
@Betty Cracker: They could be cute with the right outfit. I also like these. I have a pair and they are going strong even after ten years.
Betty Cracker
@Suffern ACE: We all concluded that the worst pizza we had in NYC was better than the best pizza that could be purchased in Florida. But to be fair, we only tried allegedly good NY pizza joints.
Also, I’m convinced that our homemade pizza is just as good as New York’s finest — except that we must now build a coal- or wood-fired oven to get the crust exactly right. But the New Yorker among us swears that we’d also have to import NYC water too. In short, we’re more or less at square one.
SatanicPanic
What are skate shoes? To a Californian that’s an odd thing to ask. Like asking a New Yorker what pizza is
Tommy
@Chopper: Welcome to the south :). Or the humidity. Heat never got me as much as the humidity. In grad school in Baton Rouge I often took a second tee shirt with me, just to change out of cause I was pitting it out from the walk from the parking lot to the building my classes were in.
Suffern ACE
@Betty Cracker: you can find our water at your nearest whole foods.
Josie
@MattF: I’m with you. I love my New Balance. Those and Dansko’s are all I ever wear.
Pogonip
@MattF: Either my feet are shrinking or shoes have succumbed to ” vanity sizing” like in clothes ( where the manufacturer keeps making the clothes in a certain size bigger so a fat old baby boomer can tell herself and her girlfriends she’s still a size 6). I always wore E width shoes. Now in all brands except Reebok I wear a B, medium width, and even in Reebok I can actually get my feet inside a D width.
Cervantes
@Betty Cracker: Satchel’s in Gainesville is … not the worst pizza I’ve ever had.
(I’ve certainly had worse in New York.)
JustRuss
The last time I skateboarded ” a few feet”, the board shot out from under me and put a nice hole in one of a matched pair of sliding pocket doors that I had spent about 20 hours custom-finishing to match the rest of the doors in our house. Good times.
Betty Cracker
@Cervantes: I’ll have to check it out next time I’m up for a game. It wasn’t there during my student days; I knew every pizza place in Gainesville.
NotMax
@geg6
As have intimated or said outright previously, if I were suddenly granted three wishes the first would be to now and forever remove zucchini from the planet.
Remains the only food item which I refuse to let past the lips, in any form, in any concoction. Horrid, vile stuff.
YMMV.
Betty Cracker
@Suffern ACE: Holy Christ. We may have to set up an exchange with our NY relatives. They love our homemade hot sauce and would surely exchange it for tap water. That way I can continue to avoid Whole Paycheck.
Anoniminous
@Tommy:
Gather around, my son, and learn wisdom from an older male. Men and women do not speaky dah same lingo. You said, “bring walking shoes.” What she heard was “and wear my fabulous footwear that looks MARVELOUS with my new summer outfit (matches the top perfectly.)”
Tommy
Since we are talking sneakers. I had a tennis racket placed in my hands while I was in the cradle. Played at high levels until college when I had to decide to go with a tennis or golf scholarship. I went with golf.
I ALWAYS wore Stan Smith shoes. I now see you can still buy them. Off to buy a pair.
raven
Skateboardin on a homemade rig in LA, 1965,
gbear
When you mentioned skate shoes my mind flashed to the kids shoes with wheels built in so the kids can roll around when they want. Did your shoes have built-in flashing lights too? I was horrified by the thought of renegade grandmas rolling around all over Florida. Glad to find out they’re just glorified sneakers.
New Balance fan myself. Some of them are still USA made.For hiking boots, I’m on about my 10th pair of Eccos. Comfy, durable and lightweight.
srv
New Balance and Keen are good, but I can wear Vasque hiking shoes on concrete all day, and they last forever.
NB is a bit of a ripoff for the $:longevity ratio.
smintheus
Americans are so stupid. Gallup poll asks: If _X_ kind of people were in government, the country would be governed better (or worse).
Some perplexing results:
– People who think it is more important to compromise to get things done than to hold firm to their principles: 63% (30%).
– People who think it is more important to hold firm to their principles than to compromise to get things done: 56% (38%).
raven
Me and my pup skatin, Illini Union 1970.
Citizen_X
I love skate shoes, but not for walking any distance. They have no arch support!
Betty Cracker
@raven: Get a haircut, hippie! ;-)
smintheus
@ranchandsyrup: Try Zucchini fritters made with feta cheese.
NotMax
@raven
Wow. It’s like paging through a scrapbook of hairstyles.
Tommy
@raven: Great pics and not to seem strange what do you look like today?
Trollhattan
@gbear:
My first thought as well, and it was a glorious vision of familia Cracker gliding around Central Park, clutching umbrella drinks.
schrodinger's cat
@Josie: Have you tried Born shoes? I have their boots, comfortable and they also look good.
Citizen_X
@raven: Sidewalk surfin’!
raven
@Tommy: Shaved head and goat for most of 20 years. Good for the swimming.
ranchandsyrup
@smintheus: that sounds good. Will do and thx.
Amir Khalid
I remember reading somewhere that, before the kids made them fashionable, Doc Martens 1460 boots were originally the preferred footwear of little old English ladies. The air bubbles in the soles made them very comfy, it seems. I rather doubt this, though; the stiff leather combat-boot-style uppers are known to need a lot of breaking in.
My own favourite footwear is a 13-year-old pair of brown walking boots. They’re kind of beat up, but the leather is soft and very comfy now after many many tins of dubbin. I got them for the equivalent of US$60 or so and they’re still going strong.
⚽️ Martin
@mack: I put 5+ miles a day on my Merrill Moabs. Best shoes I’ve ever owned. Probably 3,000 miles on this pair – my feet are never tired or sore, ever.
SatanicPanic
@Citizen_X: The basic Vans aren’t, but some of the higher end ones are fine for walking
BGinCHI
@smintheus: Recipe, for god’s sake.
SatanicPanic
@raven: Rad!
NotMax
Aren’t saggers (or saggerz) de rigueur in skate culture?
Picturing throngs of seniors in skate shoes decked out thus converging on the Early Bird Special in Florida.
Villago Delenda Est
@dmsilev: What, exactly, is the Texas National Guard supposed to do when they encounter these kids fleeing violence in Central America? Shoot them on sight?
gbear
The only time I was in New York City, someone found out I was from St. Paul (probably the moment that words came out of my mouth) and started railing about the shitty pizza in my fair city. Unfortunately, the most popular touristy Eye-talian restaurant in downtown St. Paul does actually suck. Their pizza is shitty, but it’s the place that always comes up when tourists are looking for a place to eat. There are 50 better places within 5 miles.
Tommy
@raven: Understood :). Literally doing the same thing here. 10 years. The saved head thing still freaks my mom out. I used to have this full head of hair. Clearly you did as well from your pics. I said if I started to go bald I wasn’t playing around with a comb over or this or that. I’d shave it off.
I don’t think many people thought I would …. but I did just what I said I’d do.
Manyakitty
@Betty Cracker: I love me some Etnies, so I get it. Had some Dansko clogs, but they stretched and rolled (and nearly broke) my stupidly weak ankles. Lately, though, Adidas trail runners have served me well.
Ben Cisco (onboard the Defiant)
New Balance rocks. Best favor I ever did my feet.
Josie
@schrodinger’s cat: I haven’t tried them. I have to be very careful due to weird feet and recurring heel spurs earned when I was young and athletic and ran five miles every morning before work. I have to have a wide toe box, a narrow heel, padding and really good arch support. Do you think the Born shoes would work for that? I have seen them online but never knew much about them.
JPL
@Villago Delenda Est: All the children need to do is go to a checkpoint and ask for amnesty according to the 2008 law. There are fewer immigrants trying to cross illegally now than in the past. I actually saw one of the networks cover the border the day after Perry and Hannity went with their guns and they watched and watched and watched. Perry is running for President.
Schlemizel
We lived in Cocoa Beach for a few years while I worked at NASA & spent a lot of time with the kids at Disney World (FLA residents could get year long passes for about 3 1/2 days entrance fees – it was very cheap entertainment for the kids who where the perfect age at the time). It always amazed me that people would show up at DW with brand new shoes! You do know you re going to walk about 20 miles & stand in line for about 20 hours today, right? Why on earth would you think new shoes were a good idea?
We also loved the families that wore matching outfits.
BTW, I love my Vans, they really are pretty comfy shoes.
Suffern ACE
@gbear: I always liked the green mill. I thought it was fine considering the pizza I had grown up with was Pizza Hut and whatever the 4-h club was selling as a fund raiser.
Amir Khalid
@Tommy:
A generation ago Stan Smith wore those shoes to play in Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Nowadays adidas sells them all fancied up in its fashion boutiques.
Suffern ACE
@JPL: what the national guard can do is find the adults who are transporting the children. They aren’t actually coming alone.
raven
@Tommy: My mom hated it when I had hair to the middle of my back and a ZZ Top beard and she hated my shaved head. Whatcha gonna do!
BGinCHI
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/perry-federal-government-reimburse-national-guard
Obama’s measured response:
Go Fuck Yourself.
smintheus
@BGinCHI: This recipe is like the one we use from our Greek cookbook. But ours calls for only 1 lb of zucchini. Also, our recipe adds mint (about a tblsp of dried mint) and 6 green onions. We fry it in an olive oil/peanut oil mix.
raven
@SatanicPanic: We made our own boards then. First we used steel wheels and then went to clay. Both kinds stopped on a dime when you hit little rocks and you would bust your ass. I was pretty good at the time but about 10 years ago I tried to get on one and it was totally gone, a real bummer.
NotMax
@Suffern ACE
Hadn’t thought of the Green Mill in many a moon.
Their deep-dish fare was tasty, but more like a pizza-flavored casserole. Pitchers of brewski were inexpensive, so was one of the favored hangouts for the college crowd.
Schlemizel
@c u n d gulag:
We have visited NYC a couple of times & find it a very walkable city. We do take advantage of the subway when possible but mostly for going up or down. Left or right we always walk and even 20 blocks does not seem like much because there is always ‘entertainment” to be had!
When I win the lotto we are going to rent a place on Manhattan for a year and eat at a different place for lunch and dinner every day, see every play, on & off b-way and just live the life. It really is a great city and it needs to be walked.
smintheus
@smintheus: Oh, and we’ve never paused to use tzatziki sauce with them. They’re so delicious they just get wolfed down.
raven
@Schlemizel: When I win it I’m renting a place at Manhattan Beach!
JPL
@Suffern ACE: I thought they could just leave the children at the border. Why would they need the guard when they have border patrol? I understand that the Guard could help apprehend those coming in illegally though.
Villago Delenda Est
@BGinCHI: I like how Perry’s wearing glasses in that photo imagining it makes him look “smart” and “serious”.
What a fuckhead.
Villago Delenda Est
@JPL: 2008 law. Oh, the one passed during the blah guy’s pre-election term, I take it?
Chopper
@Tommy:
I grew up in Chicago and lived in DC and NYC so I know humid well enough. But goddamnit the last year in CA made me lose my ability to deal widdit.
gelfling545
@geg6: Ahem… I taught middle school in heels for most of my career. Then came a September morning, right around age 55, when I looked at my shoes and realized, sadly, that I couldn’t do it again. Since I was not quite that attached to my shoes, the realization was, happily, not lethal.
mai naem
The New Balance CEO is a RWNJ. Just sayin’. I’ve been wearing Keens for about 4 years now. I am big on if they aren’t comfortable in the store, you don’t buy them. I actually went into the store to replace my Merrells but ended up trying on the Keens and loved them. Borns, Rockports and Eastlands are good too. I had a pair of Rockports which i loved,loved loved but they just started to look too worn on top to wear and they had stopped making that style so I ended moving onto Merrells at that point.
BGinCHI
@smintheus: Thanks!! Sounds delish.
Josie
@JPL: It is a huge mistake to put the National Guard on the border. Soldiers are trained somewhat differently than border patrol officers are, and it is dangerous to have them making decisions about who is and is not legal and how to apprehend them. People have been killed in years past when the National Guard was used, and those of us who have lived on the border for a long time don’t want them here. Our sheriff of Hidalgo County was very blunt about it and stated that he didn’t want or need them here. Perry is just grandstanding.
Schlemizel
@Betty Cracker:
Try tossing a tiny bit of baking soda in the water. NYC apparently has water on the base side of the Ph scale. I do not believe it matters (and our water in Cocoa was pretty base so yours may be there already) as much as NYC foodies like to pretend. I do it when I boil begles but I think honestly boiling them is more important as most chains are too cheap to do them right.
I bought a grill with a pizza stone insert & getting the thing to 5-600 degrees gives us results everyone raves about. AGain, I think it is cheaper & easier to bake at lower temps & it really does make a difference in the crust.
BGinCHI
@Villago Delenda Est: He is such an idiot. What the fuck is wrong with people that they think a military solution is the right thing to do during a crisis involving children?
Also, do they know anything about the history of Central America and our involvement there?
Rhetorical fucking question, sadly. Maybe the Sunday shitshows could be replaced by educational programming.
Diana
You are not the only one. This past fall I hosted a college student as a guest for NYC comicon and since she was visiting the fashion capital of the US she brought all her most fashionable shoes, so, of course, by the end of her first day she had such blisters in her feet that she couldn’t walk anywhere in any of them. She borrowed my adjustable Teva sandals for the duration of her visit and wound up having to wear them to get on the plane home.
So she bought me a new pair of Teva sandals in compensation. NYC may be a fashionable town, but bear in mind that you’ll have to get around in foot.
Amir Khalid
@Villago Delenda Est:
I too am baffled. I can picture a National Guardsman, in boots and carrying an M-16, and I can imagine a confused and scared 12-year-old from South America. I can’t quite imagine how the Guardsman, who knows zip about immigration matters and probably doesn’t speak Spanish, is supposed to deal with the kid. But then, as you know, Rick Perry is hardly equipped to think such questions through.
PaulW
Betty, take it from a fellow Floridian, there is just WAY too much walking around New York City. I’m insisting they start installing people movers like they have at other tourist attractions, ’cause that’s all NYC really is: one big Disneyland.
PaulW
@dmsilev:
Rick Perry is expecting money from THIS Congress?!
WaterGirl
@Cervantes: That he’s got his priorities straight!
JPL
@Josie: It’s more important for Perry to make a statement, rather than admit that undocumented immigrants is at an all time low. As Villago Delenda Est said Perry is now wearing his Clark Kent glasses and thinks he appears smart and serious. Okay I added the Clark Kent glasses.
WereBear
@NotMax: Nah. Okra is far worse.
Furry AND gooey. What demon in charge came up with that one?
scav
Perry. Quick to grandstand with the big gesture so long as it’s on somebody else’s dime. There’s a certain essential truth to his movement and region in the financial ethos and shenanigans undergirding same. Off-budget warfare. And the glasses.
Schlemizel
@gbear:
I know the place & NEVER eat their pizza. Carboni’s used to be the best but they fell off a cliff as far as I can tell. The Broadway Pizza by me is really good but they are independently owned so the very.
The very best pizza, after ols school Carboni’s was Cicero’s. They built their place around a pipe organ so the place was always rockin but damn that was fine pizza.
I do better at home now because I only use good toppings and bake it at 600.
EDIT: @Suffern ACE: Forgot Green Mill, they are not bad
JPL
@WereBear: The poor maligned okra. You can stir fry some okra and add some sesame oil and a few sesame seeds and it’s quite good. Pickled okra is great, soggy, slimy okra not so much.
WaterGirl
@raven: I want the video of you trying to do that now!
@raven: Love that photo. You were both pups!
Amir Khalid
@WereBear:
I happen to like okra — or, as we call them here, ladies’ fingers.
BGinCHI
Negative talk about okra will not be tolerated on this blog.
gratuitous
Whoa, that was a shot a Cole from outta nowhere: “I wasn’t parading around in heels like some I could mention, I assure you.” The guy’s going into rehab, Betty; have a little compassion, huh?
Cervantes
@WereBear: Okra is slimy if you aren’t cooking it right. Prepared the right way it is delicious.
Schlemizel
@raven:
I had all of Florida I could take when I lived there. Its a nice place if you live inside a gated, guarded community. The nicest people I ever met & the rottenest people were all in FLA. I miss the nice ones but I would saw the damn dick off America in a heartbeat because of the others.
Suffern ACE
@JPL: the kids have to go over the border. There are border towns where someone can walk across on their own. But I think a lot of the border in Texas is a river. And a fence. At least it isn’t Arizona where there is a desert to get lost in.
Mnemosyne
@Amir Khalid:
To make things even more interesting, quite a few of the kids coming in now don’t speak Spanish, at least not as their first language — they speak one of the various Mayan languages, which are still spoken by millions in Central America. That’s one of the things contributing to the mess — they have to find translators who can speak Mayan, and there are not a whole lot of those out there, even in the US.
JPL
When I was younger many, many, many decades ago, my mother used to make a beef stew with large chunks of celery. Although raw celery is okay, for many years I never cooked with it. Recently a son suggested a fine dice in soups because it helps thicken the soup. Well by gosh, you can teach an older person, new tricks.
Cervantes
@WaterGirl: A good save!
Jebediah, RBG
@raven:
Manhattan Beach Pier is the turn-around point for my short (25 mile) bike rides.
I do like living near the beach…
WereBear
@Cervantes: This explains it.
I was introduced to okra when we moved from the Midwest to the South. It was in a school lunch.
Sorry. Never gonna get over that one.
Mnemosyne
@PurpleGirl:
One time, my mother looked at the Doc Martens I was wearing and said, “You’ll never get a man wearing shoes like that.”
Fortunately, she was wrong. :-)
Steeplejack (tablet)
This is an interesting thread. My favorite everyday shoes—Merrell Moabs—are about ready for the Last Hike, and I will replace them, but I was also thinking of perhaps broadening my wardrobe with a pair of “look good but are really walkable” black shoes to change it up for “business casual” as opposed to “casual casual.” (I have a pair of dress black shoes that I hate.)
WaterGirl
Welcome home, Betty! Glad to have you back.
Josie
@Suffern ACE: If they want to get past the check point, which is about 60 miles north of the border, they have to walk through ranch land on either side of the highway. They might as well be walking through hell because, unless the ranchers leave water for them (we used to do this when we owned land there), there is no water, food or shade for all those miles. It’s not a desert, but it is mesquite scrub, which is just as bad. That is where they find the dead bodies. A fifteen year old boy was found there a few weeks ago.
Suffern ACE
@Amir Khalid: I don’t think this is a problem. The kids are looking for people with uniforms and guns to surrender to. Now there will be more of them. Now, if Perry does more than that and issues orders other than that, we have an even bigger crisis on our hands.
I’ll pretend to be hopeful on that. Although, for a big super power, we are not all that bright. I could see the country dissolving into a civil war caused by children. I thought the war would start over how to pay for cancer treatment for poor people. But who knows. It could start over 12 year olds.
askew
Perry sending the National Guard to the border is infuriating and a political stunt.
I am heartened though by blue state governors working to find places for these kids in their states.
MA Governor Patrick –
MD Governor O’Malley –
I hope other blue state Governors will step up to the plate soon.
PurpleGirl
@PaulW: I think he’d get the money… he wants the money to come hard on (illegal) immigrants crossing the border. That’s something this Congress (and the GOP) can agree with.
maeve
I don’t care about heels — to me it’s all about arch support. Don’t know about Vans but Converse (as I know them) don’t have no arch support. And arch support has to be in the right place – for me – Nikes or Avia, yes, Adidas, No. I have a high arch and high instep.
Also toes not squished together, the skate shoes look good on that account.
Suffern ACE
@Josie: cool. Google maps has a little feature where you can see where the checkpoints are. I have to say, in Texas it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
maeve
@Amir Khalid:
I bought a packet of fish curry seasoning once (I think it was from Australia or New Zealand) – the recipe called for lady fingers – which threw me because in American “Ladyfingers” are little cakey-cookies – however through the power of google I found that lady fingers probably meant Okra.
gogol's wife
Went to a tony CT outlet today and got my handsome husband two new pair of shoes, lots of socks, and a beautiful sports jacket, as well as a new bag for myself since a close relative made a caustic remark about my old one but he reads this blog so I won’t be more specific than that. It felt good!
gogol's wife
@Steeplejack (tablet):
A friend of mine swears by Mephisto, but they are quite expensive. On the other hand, they last a long time and are apparently very comfortable.
Josie
@Suffern ACE: Those maps are very interesting. The one I am familiar with is the Falfurrias one, but I knew they were somewhere on all the other roads going away from the border. Just getting across the border is one hurdle. Getting past the checkpoints is equally difficult.
Mnemosyne
@Steeplejack (tablet):
If you like Merrells, they make a lot of “normal” shoes now. I have a few pairs of high-heeled bike sandals that no one knows are bike shoes unless I tell them.
ETA: Linky. They’re not cheap through their website, but you can find last season’s shoes at places like 6pm.com at a good discount.
gogol's wife
@WereBear:
I’ve never had non-slimy okra. I’ve heard it exists, but have never observed it in reality.
Dog On Porch
“..I think the Olds should take them over since skate shoes are padded, sturdy and skid-resistant”.
Then you’re obviously nowhere near old enough. Believe me, a few more years have to pass before you will realize with a laugh how ridiculous the idea of old timers on skates truly is (exhale).
scav
@gogol’s wife: Well, some actually surfaced on my plate in an Indian restaurant on Devon, so I suppose I’m primed for just about anything: the Easter Bunny emerging from a Bright Pink Tardis filled with cellophane grass; entire countries where elegant ladies have ridged green fingers . . .
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: Thanks! I like places which let you narrow down the choices instead of wading through a bunch of stuff you’d never wear.
schrodinger's cat
@Josie: Do you have a Marshall’s or TJ Maxx near you? They sometimes have Born shoes on sale, you can try them on and see how you like them.
schrodinger's cat
@gogol’s wife: It exists alright and it is divine. Bitter gourd (karela) on the other hand. Do.Not.Want.
geg6
@Betty Cracker:
I wear heels almost every day for almost everything. They are my trademark. I do have a few pairs of ballet flats for very casual occasions but I usually wear heels or, at the least, wedges.
I do have a pair of Fila walkers, but they are only for when I’m on the treadmill and must never be seen on me outside the house. It would ruin my reputation.
Josie
@schrodinger’s cat: Yes, there is a Marshall’s close to me. I will check there. Thanks.
gbear
@Diana: Isn’t wearing your most fashionable or hippest clothing when you visit NYC like wearing a sign that says ‘Tourist. Rob Me”? We were staying in a seedy part of Brooklyn when I was there so I made sure to wear the most non-descript stuff I had. As long as I kept my mouth shut, I could pass.
@NotMax: @Suffern ACE: I used to get Green Mill pizza when I wanted something special (which was pretty often). It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten there but the last time it was still pretty tasty stuff. Not sure how long since you’ve been here, but Green Mill is a chain that’s all over the Twin Cities now.
Cervantes
@schrodinger’s cat:
Can be found in Chinese (or “Asian”) markets.
Used to enjoy it sliced thin, spiced up, and deep-fried. Have not had it in decades, for obvious reasons.
EthylEster
@Tommy: My story exactly. I had to glue the sole and shoe together last year. Best price on amazon. But I didn’t know they did non-sandals.
Why am I in moderation?
raven
@Schlemizel: Manhattan Beach is LA.
rikyrah
Clueless rich kids on the rise: How millennial aristocrats will destroy our future
Today’s wealthy are far more likely to have inherited their fortunes. Here’s why that’s going to doom our politics
Tim Donovan
Prevailing neoliberal ideology, which perverts capitalism as an economic system into capitalism as an unyielding political ideology, lurks in the shadows of almost every major issue in America, though nowhere is its influence more obvious or profound than in the spiraling rise of income and wealth inequality today.
When Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century” was first released in English, it followed the Culture War Playbook to perfection: First came the triumphant plaudits from like-minded thinkers, followed shortly by the hasty rebuttals of their ideological opponents, followed themselves by a torrent of commentary from pundits left and right who skimmed the book before adding their own two cents. Soon, there was the predictable “unskewing” by the right, after which came the fact-checking of the “unskewers” on the left… at which point the whole process had reached its inevitable conclusion. High-traffic angles fully juiced, our treadmill news cycle moved on to the next plank in our bitter, pointless culture clash, what author William Gibson has termed our “cold civil war.”
…………………………………………….
Whether or not one is generally convinced by Piketty’s thesis that r > g (or more plainly, that capital tends to grow at a faster rate than income without some form of outside intervention), it should be plain that in our system, the stage has been uniquely well-set for the unbridled expansion of wealth that his book describes. When the effective tax rates are lower for capital gains than for the incomes of the less affluent; when political processes are legally corrupted and circumvented for a price; when regulatory agencies are gutted, stalled, or simply staffed with careerists eager to make their way through the revolving door — this is not a political or economic system likely to become less unequal over time.
Will this trend toward inequality continue? According to “U.S. Trust Insights on Wealth and Worth,” a recent survey of wealthy Americans that aims to “[shed] light on the direction and purpose of the more than $15 trillion that will be passed across generations in high-net-worth families over the next two decades,” it seems increasingly likely.
The survey, which polled 680 Americans holding at least $3 million in investable assets, unearthed a troubling trend — the birth of a new American aristocracy. As the survey notes, “Nearly three-quarters of those over 69, and 61% of Baby Boomers, were the first generation to accumulate significant wealth. Among the younger Millennial generation, inherited wealth is more common. About two-thirds are from families in which they are the second, third or fourth generation to be wealthy.” Now, it should be noted briefly that this survey relies on self-reporting, which makes these figures somewhat suspect. (More on this in a bit.) But consider two charts: The first shows the highest marginal tax rates on income and capital gains throughout the last hundred years, while the second outlines the estate tax rate during the same period.
http://www.salon.com/2014/07/21/clueless_rich_kids_on_the_rise_how_millennial_aristocrats_will_destroy_our_future/?source=newsletter
Pogonip
@Diana: My son went through 4 or 5 of the Smithsonians in one day and ended up with silver-dollar-size blisters. I had to hit several stores the next day before I found flip-flops in size 14 so we could get home. If it had been cold I guess we’d have just had to stay a few extra days. I was worried the angry-looking blisters would get infected but when we got home his grandfather, a former infantryman, said, “Oh, that ain’t nothing,” and sure enough, they cleared up after a few days of barefooting around the house.
Lessob
Pogonip
Er, lesson: if you’re going to walk a lot, don’t forget your band aids and little foam circles. And if Mom has the band aids, speak up.
geg6
@gbear:
Depends on who you are hanging out with, your level of confidence in navigating. I may not live there, but I’ve spent so much time there that I can blend in like a native. And, of course, you have to know where you can and cannot go and at which times. My former boyfriend still lives there and I still visit when I’m in town. When we were together, I flew up almost every weekend. This started back in 1980 or so, before the city became the Disneyland-type place it is today. Back then, Times Square was filled with x-rated theaters, junkies and street walkers, not Sephoras and Bubba Gumps and Swatch stores. Wasn’t afraid of it then and certainly am not now.
burningambulance
If anybody in this thread is new to skate shoes, I highly recommend DC or Etnies. I’m 42, and they’re basically all I wear anytime it’s not snowing. I generally pay about $60 a pair; used to buy them from Zappos all the time, but now that they don’t take Paypal anymore I’m a less frequent customer.
NotMax
@gbear
Been going down memory lane on great meals in Minneapolis-St. Paul, back when.
Charlie’s, for steak, although seem to remember reading somewhere that the venerable institution has since closed.
Fantastic onion rings at Forepaugh’s. Still have the recipe eventually wangled out of a chef reluctant to divulge it as it was not long after they opened.
Also a private Renaissance-inspired dinner – every dish from an actual historical recipe – at one of the museums (maybe Ramsey House?). I was the only one with either the gumption or the foolhardiness to arrive in a rented costume: pantaloons, tights, doublet, feathered cap, etc., all in burnt orange. Got some mighty strange looks in the elevator down to the ground floor on my way there.
Schlemizel
@raven:
Ah, thats different then, isn’t it? :)
I’m more a fan of Northern CA but my brother lives in Lawson Beach and its not terrible.
PurpleGirl
@Pogonip: Moleskin. Dr. Schols’ Moleskin. (The older form of the stuff, not the newer foam stuff.) Cut a rectangle and put it over the heel/ankle juncture in the morning before walking and then you won’t get a blister.
Manyakitty
@Josie: Check DSW, too. Ours is right next to TJ Maxx and they always have TONS to choose from.
Pogonip
@PurpleGirl: That original moleskin is hard to find!
After having Mom yell at him about his feet across 4 states, I don’t think my son will ever again forget the band aids.
Suffern ACE
@gbear: I left St. Paul 25 years ago. And there was only one green mill at the time.
rikyrah
@Cervantes:
Okra is slimy
But, it’s good in succotash.
Gumbo.
Fried.
Steeplejack
@gogol’s wife, @Mnemosyne:
Thanks for the advice. I have heard/read great things about Mephisto, have never had occasion to take the plunge. I admit that am one of those guys who hates to shop, but (a) I was never so hapless that I had to be dressed by a girlfriend, (b) when I have to shop I am usually focused and decisive, and (c) I do believe that you save money by buying quality that will last. Have had to break that rule in times of dire poverty, but it’s still a guiding principle.
After my previous comment I found myself on line looking at “walkable” black shoes by Rockport, New Balance and “Dunham by New Balance.” I think what I want is a pair of black shoes that look “normal”—more like dress shoes—but have “stealth walkies” technology in them so they are really comfortable for urban hiking and long hours of wear. Found myself gravitating to the same shoes that turned out to be recommended by mailmen and retail drones.
And, Mnemo, thanks of the pointer to the Merrell site. I hadn’t thought of them in connection with “real” shoes. There is a Merrell outlet store in Rehoboth Beach, so I’ll check it out the next time I’m invited to Bro’ Man’s new beach house. I usually get my Moabs at REI here or at the outlet store there. The discount at the latter is not that great, but Delaware has no sales tax, because freedom!, and that helps.
NotMax
That which has been seen cannot be unseen: gravel-voiced, globular character actor Eugene Pallette wearing a kilt in movie on in background.
@Suffern ACE
1977 last time was there, so (duh!) just the one location as well.
gogol's wife
@NotMax:
I just switched it on. Isn’t Robert Donat delicious, though?
raven
@Jebediah, RBG: So you in Torrance?
NotMax
@gogol’s wife
Oh, yes.
tybee
@rikyrah:
and the small ones are pretty damned good right off the plant, too.
gbear
@Suffern ACE: The original one on Hamline near Grand is still there, although they went through a micro-brewery phase that was kind of weird.
smintheus
@JPL: Celery absolutely makes a lentil soup delicious.
Jacks mom
Betty
If you are ever in the market for some more old school skate shoes, my kids (son & DIL) have an awesome selection at
http://www.maxonboards.com
We are located in beautiful SW Colorado which as you know is a purple & green state.
Olivia
All they need to do is put velcro fasteners on them and the over 70 crowd will be wearing nothing but these.
NotMax
@smintheus
Inconceivable to prepare pot roast (and so many other things) without mirepoix: carrots, onions, celery.
burnspbesq
You want comfortable shoes? I got you (note: they also come in women’s sizes).
http://www.keenfootwear.com/us/en/product/shoes/men/waterfront/newport
Ruckus
@Amir Khalid:
Bet that National Guardsman is smarter than Perry. Not necessarily much but anything smarter than a flat rock is an improvement.
Ruckus
@WereBear:
Okra furry and gooey isn’t how I remember it from the navy. More like furry breaded rocks that tasted like crap. Not as bad as brussel sprouts but still bad.
SiubhanDuinne
@Chopper:
You call this humid? Just you wait.
Welcome to Hotlanta. May one ask what brings you here? And in what part of metro Atlanta you are settling? You probably know there are a lot of Juicers in these parts, and I’m sure we’d all enjoy meeting you once you get settled in.
Sir Laffs-a-Lot
welcome back, Lezzie Cracker, we missed you shoes and all :)
Shana
@scav: Hmm, indian restaurants on Devon, name “Scav.” Clearly a Chicagoan. Are you also a UofC alum?
Dearolddad
Golf shoes today look like skate shoes. My golf buddies (most of whom are older than my 61 years) all wear shoes that look like the ones in the picture.
Gerald Bostock
Betty, can you tell me what kind the ones in the photo are? I currently own a pair of vans, but they’re wee uncomfortable, and I’m looking for replacements. Thanks!
richard crews
Skateboard shoes are great! I’m 65, and NOT any kind of sportster or athlete. I do gardening, walking, and carpentry,
The difference between skate shoes abd other sport/running type shoe is that the skate shoe sole has a very flat bottom and a very stiff sole. I’m hard on shoes, and I will break that stiff sole before I wear it out.
The high=traction flat stiff sole takes a day or two to get used to.
David Koch
Those are some pretty small shoes
Fred
Those shoes look comfortably wide. Mmmmm. I like wide.
Betty Cracker
@Gerald Bostock: The pictured shoes are made by Converse.
@David Koch: Size 9.
@Fred: That’s one thing I like about them too; lots of toe room!
Gerald Bostock
@Betty Cracker: Thank you very much…
Paul in KY
Have a pair of Duffs. Very comfortable. Wore them to Forecastle.
Jebediah, RBG
@raven:
No, Culver City. I ride out along Ballona Creek to the beach, then turn south towards Manhattan Beach (turning north means riding through Venice – too crowded with tourists to be anything but annoying if you are trying to ride.)
J R in WV
@NotMax:
Max (not):
Agree about Zuchinni, bad bad. Okra worse, though. Much. Slime. Yecchhhe
Glocksman
Late I know, but I have to throw in my 2 cents on shoes.
Screw skater shoes, buy postal service shoes with the green ‘SR USA’ tag on them.
I wore them exclusively when I worked in foodservice.
Durable, comfortable, and so slip resistant that I could walk through a puddle of cooking oil without slipping.
Plus they’re US made unlike the Vans or Converse skater shoes.
If I’m going to pay more than $50 for a pair of shoes, I’d like some of that cash to go to workers here in America instead of the pockets of contract factory owners in Indonesia, China, or Vietnam.