I’ve heard it said that you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their shoes. If it’s true my footwear says a lot about me. Since I have no depth perception, even my newest shoes are soon scuffed on the toes from when I stumble. There’s bound to be some paint speckles or overspray on them. We often weld, so some burns or missing stitches are inevitable. Dust lingers in the crevices and folds of the leather. There’s bound to be some dirt or mud, speaking of where I might have recently been. The soles are definitely worn because I put on many miles, most often at a brisk pace. I buy quite a number of pairs of shoes each year. For the first couple of weeks they are my ‘new’ shoes, reserved only for special occasions. As I break them in and they begin showing wear they are moved down the scale for ‘good’ occasions. Generally this is for when I am working in the studio or running errands to town, but not doing dirty tasks in the shop or yard. The shoes aren’t ’good’ for long because stuff happens regularly - at least in my life. Like with my jeans, shirts, and hats dirt, paint, grease and sparks will jump to what I am wearing, even if I am many feet away and I do my best to avoid them. In a short while they become shop shoes, replacing the last pair which have become unserviceable. The lifespan of an average pair of my shoes is only 6-10 weeks. It makes no difference if they are expensive or the bargain variety. Often, as I go out the door to the shop Janis will look to see which shoes I am wearing. Each time I have on the wrong pair I make a promise to Janis that I will be extra, extra careful. I mean it too! I have the very best of intentions… but as I say above, stuff happens. And just like that I have a new pair of work shoes.