By Allen Bacon, The Daily Bosco
I buried an old friend last week. Since I love to walk, my most intimate and closest friend is my pair of black Reebok walking shoes. This type of shoe has been my constant companion for the past 20 years. I just purchased my ninth pair last week. Something about the ugliness of the shoe with the functionality of the shoe always makes it my choice.
When I retire a pair of black Reeboks it’s always a little sad because I start thinking of all the places I walked in those shoes. This pair was a little more special than the others.
This is the pair of shoes I lost 40 pounds with. The very first trip I made with these shoes was on a train ride to Chicago from Fullerton and into Omaha on the Zephyr for the College Baseball World Series. I spent a lot of time walking around places like Galesburg, Illinois the home of the Lincoln-Douglass debates (where my train was delayed for about 8 hours), Omaha, Nebraska from Rosenblatt Stadium to the beautiful revamped downtown area and around the outskirts and in places along the way like Albuquerque, Flagstaff, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento where I walked from my hotel to the Riverwalk and the stadium to see the Sacramento Rivercats play against the San Jose Giants.
I also walked 50 miles of Route 66 in California in these shoes. Driving it by car is cool, especially if it is in a vintage car, but when you slow down to walking the road it’s a little more special. I touched the road in Pasadena and felt the vibration coming from Chicago. I stopped and talked to a lot of wonderful people in these shoes along the mother road. I saw a lot of interesting things too that I would have missed if I drove by or even rode by on a bicycle.
These were the shoes I walked 45 miles in San Francisco and up and down the train that took me from Fullerton to Seattle. On the same trip I walked 25 miles around the Puget Sound area of Washington, walked with my good friends Mark and Greg through the town of Eugene while they shared with me stories and the history of the town and shared some of the wonderful theatres and restaurants. On this same trip my shoes took me through Anchorage and a six mile walk every day for a week in the sub-zero weather of Kotzebue.
I had several walks with my labrador Chad and my Toy Manchester Terrier Malone through the streets and parks of my hometown Fullerton in these shoes as well as several walks and talks with my two kids. Walking is a good way to talk and work out things. My Reeboks heard every word. And this doesn’t even mention the several miles I logged around my office and shop.
There were other walks around North County in these shoes including a big stretch down the Santa River trail from Orange to Norco.
The last hurrah for these Reeboks was my walk/run of the LA Marathon. I almost retired them before the Marathon. So I had a talk with my shoes. “Do you still have enough left to go 26.2 miles?” The tips of the shoes were starting to come apart and the tread was getting worn. But the old Reeboks were up to the challenge and they kept me comfortable for the entire trip. They didn’t let me down. Again.
What adventures await my new Reeboks?...The new kids on the block. I’ll let you know here. Stay tuned.
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