I am not a cowboy, but I do have the boots — or at least I used to.
Here’s the story. For one reason or another, I was late to the game in learning how to tie my shoes. In fact, I was the only kid in my kindergarten class who had not figured it out. It wasn’t due to a lack of effort on my part. I tried and tried to learn how to properly assemble those shoelaces. All I ended up doing was tying strings around my fingers. It was frustrating, even for a 5-year-old.
What I lacked in fine motor skills I made up for in ingenuity. I had a solution — cowboy boots. Yes, cowboy boots. Simple to put on. Simple to take off. And none of those annoying shoelaces. They weren’t fashion-friendly with shorts, but I mostly went barefoot in the summer months anyway. When the school year rolled around, this kid looked like Roy Rogers.
In case you are wondering, I wasn’t a farm kid. I grew up in town, so I was apparently urban cowboy before urban cowboy was cool. But a trendsetter, I was not. No other kid in my class wore cowboy boots, not even the farm kids. They all knew how to tie their shoes.
I eventually learned this life skill, sometime in the first grade. I may not remember the exact date, but I know it was a glorious moment. After a few years of others showing me how easy this was, I finally figured it out. Something just clicked, and then I proudly showed everyone how I could tie my shoes. Most didn’t understand my moment of pride, but that’s OK. They also didn’t wear cowboy boots to kindergarten class every day.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@dmcityview.com
641-755-2115