When I was in college, I bought a new pair of Justin bullhide boots. They were probably the best set of boots I had bought thus far. Comfortable, solid, tough. Little did I know how tough they really were.
I have definitely put the miles on these boots - from walking to class everyday, to working in the yard, to construction, to hiking in Hawaii, to walking the Vegas strip end to end. Every year, they were in desperate need of resoling and reheeling. But between myself and a faithful boot repair store, they kept in pretty good shape throughout the years.
Then there was the fateful moving day. I had just bought a house in a new town about 60 miles away. After a few days of moving boxes and furniture from one place to another, my Justins finally gave in. I noticed that both outer sides of my boots had ripped open. I was devistated! I’ve had these boots for 10 years by now and have taken me everywhere.
I soon was able to get over my grief when my trusty boot repair store was able to patch the sides. They were no longer everyday boots, but I couldn’t just let them go. So they became my regular work boots. Working in the yard, constructing a new finished basement, woodworking, or just camping - they were still there.
A few years later, I was on a camping and float trip with friends - and yes, my Justins were with me. At a point in the 10 hour float trip, I happened to take off my Justins for a moment. Shortly thereafter, we hit a bend in the river. What I didn’t see immediately after the bend was a fallen tree on the inner bank. The tree had created a fast and turbulent current that drove most of us towards it. I hit the tree and dispite best efforts, the canoe was sucked under the tree by the current - taking with it everything in the canoe - boots and all.
But they weren’t to be done in by nature either. A canoe that flipped ahead of me had already recovered and was able to pick up items as the rest of us fell victim to the same fate. They swiped up my boots (and other items) as they floated down the river. A little soggy - but at that point, so was I! After the trip was finished, we all sat by the fire with supper and relived the trip. I sat down in my chair and relaxed in a dry set of clothes while my Justins sat calmly by the fire and dried out. A bit of TLC and saddlesoap later, they were doing just fine.
It’s now been 15 years and my Justins are still going strong. I’m looking forward to the next 15 years - whatever it may bring - those Justins will be there with me.
