We are what’s on our feet

It’s said we are what we eat.

We are also what we wear on our feet.

I was thinking about this the other day -- why it caught my attention, I have no idea -- and started counting up the shoes, boots, etc. that I wear on a regular and fairly regular basis:

17.

That’s right, 17.

To me, that seems like a lot because I don’t consider myself a shoe person, at least not in the manner of Imelda Marcos, the wife of the former Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. It was rumored she had up to 3,000 pairs of shoes.

I break my shoes down into three categories: the Everyday shoes, the Athletic Shoes, and the Specialty Shoes.

Now that I am among the legion of Baby Boomers who are retired but still working, they reflect a person who leans more toward the casual and athletic.

That wasn’t the case when I was a full-time professional. That person was definitely more business, reflected in the shined dress shoes of greater formality.

Today’s Everyday shoes are a simple treaded leather lace-up for the fall, winter and early spring. They are replaced by a deck-shoe type slip-on for the late spring, summer and early fall.

It’s on the rare occasion these days that I’ll wear the cordovan or black dress shoes.

Around the house I’ll wear my Adidas flip-flops when it’s warm, my L.L Bean slipper mocs when it’s cold.

The Athletic shoes cover a wide range of activities, and have grown in number now that I have the time to devote to and concentrate on my physical well being.

I have shoes for running, shoes for cycling and shoes for walking. I have booties that I wear to surf when the Atlantic Ocean is too cold for my piggies. I have shoes that I wear to the beach. I have boots for skiing and boots for apres-ski eating and drinking. I have shoes for tennis -- I’d like to think I’ll pick up a racket again, but I probably won’t.

My Speciality shoes also cover a wide-range of activities.

A pair of trail shoes that I bought for hiking are actually used more for mowing the lawn and assorted yard work.

I have fleece-lined boots from Columbia for snowblowing the driveway. And I have steel-toed work boots for any occasion that requires steel-toed work boots. I needed them several years ago for a project I managed; I guess I hope there will be another project like it to manage some day.

In the meantime, it’s the working retired casual look for me on my feet.