Flash: this just in!

BHD is wearing Wesco boots again!

Woo-weeeeee!

Why so excited? It’s like this: Wesco pull-on boots — even if made custom — tend to fit a little tightly on the ankle at the instep. Normal ankles fit into the boots just fine. However, a recently broken ankle (lower fib, I keep having to remind myself), still has swelling that can continue for up to a year (according to orthopedic specialists.)

I had been having that swelling, so I resigned myself to accepting that I can wear only certain boots — those without a tight instep — until the swelling continues to go down more.

Back to the Wescos. Do you remember my story of a Wesco Disappointment? I received a cool new pair of tall Wesco harness boots made from two colors of roughout leather on April 1. Since my left leg and ankle was not injured, I tried pulling the left boot onto my foot. Ouch! It wouldn’t fit. The boot was made wrong.

I knew at the time that there would not be any way that I could wear a Wesco pull-on boot on my right leg, but since the left wouldn’t fit, it didn’t matter. I shipped the boots back to Wesco and with the help from my friend Mike, we convinced Wesco that they goofed up and the boots had to be remade.

I received the new boots on May 24. I knew at first glance that the boot shafts were wider, which was the main reason that the pair that I received on April 1 did not fit. I pulled off the boots that I had on my feet and pulled on the left boot first, then gingerly tried pulling on the right boot. It came right on! No pain! No problem! WOO-HOO! I am Wesco booted again!

This is a damn good sign that my recovery continues to progress well. I will know that I am absolutely 1000% recovered when I can wear my Dehner patrol boots. Those boots have the tightest instep of all. Once I get them on, I’m golden. (healed, fixed, recovered, whatever….)

N.B.: These burgundy/brown roughout Wesco boots aren’t for everyone. I’ve had a “boot intervention” threatened by three close friends, including my eighth brother. No worries, I’m older, wiser, and more adventuresome while they’re boring in their booted blandness.

Life is short: celebrate victories measured through your boots! (giggle)

The company that makes Wesco Boots has fairly recently come out with a variety of “new” colors and finishes of leather. In addition to traditional black, brown, and redwood, you can now order boots in “burlap” (tan), burgundy, and red, as well as with the roughout side of the hide facing outward.

Wow… how “interesting.” I have seen some guys display new Wesco boots in different colors and thought most of them looked nice. (Personally, I am not fond of red leather on Wesco boots, but that’s my opinion.)

For an ultimate last purchase of custom Wesco boots for my own collection, I worked with Mike to craft a truly unique pair of harness boots. Burgundy roughout leather foot and vamp, brown harness straps, and brown roughout shafts. I placed the order in January and began the countdown on the usual long wait to get them.

The boots arrived at my door last Thursday. I was rather surprised, because usually they send an email saying the boots were shipped, but this time they didn’t. Regardless, I was thrilled! There’s nothing like the feeling a Bootman has when he sees that big Wesco box on his doorstep!

I brought the box inside and eagerly opened it. The colors of the leather were fantastic. The 18″ height, buckskin leather lining, and thick Vibram 100R lug soles rendered quite a masculine & commanding appearance. Of course, the quality of construction was superb. But I could tell when I looked at my new boots that the shafts were narrow. Wesco has my custom sizing form on file, and for this particular pair, I had even specified the calf circumference to be one half inch wider than the measurements on my form. But they just didn’t look right.

I sat down and took off the boot I had on my left foot and tried to pull on the new left boot. Damn… waaaay too tight. No way could I pull it on. I didn’t try to pull harder. I knew that Wesco screwed up and the boots weren’t made right. Damn! I have to return the boots to be fixed and resized.

Look at the photo: the new boot is on the right, standing next to an older pair of brown Wesco harness boots on the left. You can tell simply at a glance that the calf circumference is much smaller than the older boot which was made to the same custom measurements that I had on file with Wesco.

I have heard some stories lately that Wesco has been messing up a lot of custom orders. Unfortunately, I found that out for myself. The boots have been returned. I hope they get it right this time. (I resent that the guy from Wesco told Mike in an email that he thinks my measurements have changed and they didn’t make a mistake. He will find out that they were made wrong the minute he looks at the boots. I know my boots and do not register this complaint lightly, nor am I trying to get Wesco to resize my boots for free due to my own error in judgment.)

I’m not too upset about this situation, though. Because my right leg is still healing and my ankle still swells a lot, I cannot wear those new boots on both feet right now if I wanted to. I can’t wear tall boots yet. The doc says that the ankle swelling will remain a part of my life for several months. By the time the swelling resolves, it will be typical Washington hot-as-blazes summer. That’s not a time that I can wear tall, leather-lined Wesco boots.

For now, the delay caused by having to have the boots returned, fixed, and sent back to me is okay. As I have said before, I am a very patient man. I wish the situation were different in that my right ankle was normal and the boots were sized correctly in the first place, but that ain’t the case. I’ll wait. Sometime months from now, I’ll feature those new boots here and on my website.

Good things come to those who wait… and wait… and wait. But what a horrible April Fools prank. It was no joke!

Life is short: wear your boots!

I got the cast off of my leg on Friday, and spent most of Friday afternoon removing the ugly gunk that had built up on my skin under the cast. It was great to take a bath and then a shower. You really don’t know what you’re missing when you can’t bathe by taking a shower or immersing your body in a bathtub of hot water.

After I got dressed, I tried, but was unable, to put a boot on my right leg. At first I thought the air cast that I was given was too big as I could not pull on various boots. And I tried several different styles of boots. I gave up… I was tired. I put that stupid “cast boot” back on over my injured foot/ankle and went to dinner with my family.

However, I was determined to get re-booted. Friday evening and Saturday morning, I did some stretching and flexing exercises. They really helped me regain movement in my ankle. I was able to point my injured ankle almost to the same range as its uninjured partner. I thought, “if the purpose of an air cast is to provide support and prevent the ankle from twisting, won’t a good solid boot do that?”

I called a friend who is an orthopedic specialist. While he is unfamiliar with my specific situation, he has done enough work with feet, ankles, and legs to know what I was describing. He said that I could substitute a boot for the air cast if I had to get out, but that if it got painful or the ankle swelled more, to take the boot off, put ice on it and rest.

So I pointed my injured ankle and on came my Wesco combat boots. It didn’t hurt! The good thing about lace-up boots is that they can accommodate variances in ankle sizes. My injured ankle is still a little swollen.

I laced up the boots and stood up … and walked! Woo-hoo! It actually felt better walking in those boots than walking with the stupid cast boot on my right foot and a regular boot on my left.

I proceeded to do some things that I needed to do, such as get my hair cut, attend an essential community meeting, and prepare meals for my partner and me. My beloved “St. Partner” drove me in his car, because I am not quite ready to drive myself yet. (One thing at a time.) By mid-afternoon, I was tired and sore. I took the boots off, elevated my leg, and put an ice pack on it. But man… it sure felt good to be re-booted!

Life is short: wear your boots!