Not long before my birthday I bought myself a new pair of shoes from Zappos.com. I'm not much for brands. I found a pair I liked, they had them in my size, I clicked the button. They were on my doorstep in what seemed like minutes.
They were the perfect size, comfortable, seemed durable, and they were red.
Only after I bought them did I look up the brand.
They are Doc Martens.
The first word I saw in the the first link I found was the word "subculture." I read on. Apparently Doc Martens are popular with the skinheads.
Oh well. I like them, and I don't care what anyone else thinks.
So I wore the shoes to the next family gathering. My sister and I were in my car driving, and I told her that I read after I bought the shoes that apparently they are popular with the skinheads.
"And pimps. And rappers," she added helpfully.
Later that day sitting around with the family, my sister and I were relaying our conversation.
My sister said, "give it a couple of months, and the nerds will be wearing them too."
Shea laughed so hard I thought she was going to spit something out her nose.
My sister claims she meant it as a compliment.
I've been called lots of things, but I don't remember anyone ever calling me a nerd.
But I laughed too.
Cause I suppose I am the nerd of the family. (Peferable, methinks, to being pimp, rapper, or skinhead.)
But the only one with red shoes.
(And yes I did, in fact, get baseball tickets while in Boston. Me and my red shoes got to see the Red Sox play. At Fenway. In the postseason.)
