Category Archives: Cowboy Boots

Public Speaking

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I really enjoy public speaking. For many years, I was on the “rubber chicken circuit,” traveling to conferences and meetings to present information and teach courses — many of which I wrote. I used to travel to more than 100 conferences and events annually (mostly in the U.S.) The travel was grueling and exhausting. However, I enjoyed seeing the people I was there to meet, and getting a chance to see the sights of whatever town I was in. (N.B., I do not travel nearly as much any more, much to my relief.)

Yesterday, I presented at a conference held in the DC area. It was fun seeing a number of people who I had known and worked with for many years. (I didn’t see my old boss, though several people asked me if I did.)

Over 100 people attended my session. I was quite energized and definitely “up” for the occasion.

In order to speak confidently without a script, I did what I had learned from experience. The night before, I reviewed my presentation, tweaked it a little bit, and then rehearsed it in front of my partner. He is a great “speaker critic” and gave me some pointers about some things I could explain better. He has heard it all before and knows the content almost as well as I do. I love having him as my audience. He “pulls no punches” and tells me both the good and the bad (or shall I say, what could be better.)

I like to circulate in front of the audience and not refer to notes. I keep the pace moving, quickly delivering my messages and giving anecdotes to which the audience can relate. I was definitely on “a high” from doing what, to me, is fun.

How was I dressed? Considering that the audience was dressed casually, I wore a shirt and tie, khakis, and debated about the boots. I first put on my Tony Lama “red brown” cowboy boots. Then I remembered that I was going ride my Harley to the Metro, and wanted to have boots on that would give me good traction just in case it rained. Afternoon storms were predicted. Smooth-soled cowboy boots wouldn’t work.

So I put on my tall Chippewa Hi-Shine Engineer Boots (to which I had big lug soles applied), which to me looked good with the outfit. Nice and shiny. No one said anything about the boots, and I don’t think anyone even noticed. Photo here shows me at my local Metro station on my bike where I park it.

Back to work today to the usual routine. I enjoyed the experience of public speaking, and hope to do it again soon.

Life is short: rise to the occasion and have fun!

My Review of Lucchese 1883 full quill ostrich western boots – snip toe

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LuctanostrichNice looking, but…

Booted Harleydude

Silver Spring, MD

8/6/2009

Rating: 3

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Stylish, Comfortable, Breathes Well

Cons: Wear Out Quickly

I wear boots every day. These boots look great, but are made from very soft leather. They flop around on my legs, rather than stand stiff and straight. The leather is easy to scuff. I think the leather is thinner than other cowboy boots I own, and am disappointed with what seems to be a lack of quality materials from which they are made.

Note from BHD: this blog post was created when I wrote a review of these boots that was invited by Sheplers via email.

Amusing Google Searches

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Every now and then, I look at the stats linked to this blog to see what draws new visitors to it. Most new visitors (not the “regulars” who are followers, friends, relatives, or google “friend connect” users) come from searches using Google.

Here are some of the searches that landed up here, categorized by topic. I copied exactly what people entered into a search, including typos, misspellings, and grammar (or lack thereof).

1. Gay issues

  • why gay men have those squeaky voice?
  • can a gay man be masculine
  • can you be gay and masculine
  • boots outside jeans gay?
  • gay boots and jeans

Response: some gay men speak with a distinctive sound. I described it recently here. But honestly, most do not. Most gay men sound like anyone else. It’s a stereotype that all gay men speak with a squeaky voice.

Gay men and masculinity? Yep, I have blogged a lot about that. It is quite possible, speaking from personal experience, that there are masculine gay men. Again, not all gay men are prissy queens. Gay men range in masculinity as straight men do. However, many unenlightened straight men fail to recognize or actively deny this range.

Does a man who wears his jeans inside his boots mean he is gay? Um… no. Again, another stereotype. Just go ask a rodeo cowboy in Buckaroo boots that question.

The funny: “gay boots and jeans.” I have yet to find such a combination….

2. Cowboy Boots

  • how can men wear cowboy boots
  • how to wear cowboy boots with jeans
  • what boots to wear with blue jeans
  • what jeans do you wear with cowboy boots
  • can you wear cowboy boots with a suit?
  • boots outside jeans cool?
  • how should a man wear cowboy boots
  • how to wear cowboy boots to work
  • how do cowboys iron their jeans?
  • what kind of boots do cowboys wear?

Response: It amazes and amuses me how many, many people inquire about how to wear cowboy boots, what jeans to wear with them, what stacked jeans are, if one can wear cowboy boots with a suit, and so on. I do not know the reasons why so many inquiries of this nature are searched, but ever since I posted the tutorial Cowboy Boots and Jeans on my website, it is continually the second-most visited tutorial on my website. (See below for links to the first).

Funny #1: “how to wear cowboy boots to work?” Answer: on your feet.
Funny #2: “how do cowboys iron their jeans?” Answer: it depends if you’re straight or gay. Straight cowboys don’t iron their jeans. Gay cowboys send them to the dry cleaner.
Funny #3: “what kind of boots do cowboys wear?” … um, how about, “cowboy boots!” LOL!

3. Motorcycle Boots

  • do I need motorcycle boots
  • difference between biker boots and cowboy
  • the best motorcycle boots
  • how to break in leather motercycle boots
  • how to put on 17 motorcycle boots

Response: yes, if you are going to ride a motorcycle, you need to wear boots designed for that purpose. Wearing sneakers or worse — flip-flops — is just stupid. I have blogged a whole lot about motorcycle boots and wrote the tutorials on motorcycle patrol boots and motorcycle boots. These tutorials are tied for the most-visited on my website. It is no wonder many searches about motorcycle boots end up on my website and this blog.

How to break in motorcycle boots? Train the ankles, then put on good, thick socks and wear them while riding.

Funny: “how to put on 17 motorcycle boots.” Answer: grow 15 more legs and feet!

4. Leather

  • leathermen who wear thier leathers 247
  • is it illegal to wear a uniform if you are not a cop
  • does leather hurt?

Response: I for one can’t wear leather 24/7. While I enjoy wearing leather often, I wear it when the weather is suitably cool enough. I don’t like to sweat. I guess there are some guys out there who wear leather all day and all night. I’m not one of them, and do not know any.

As for uniform wearing: yes, it is legal to wear a uniform if you are not a cop. Just don’t wear one within the jurisdiction of the agency being represented, and don’t try to act like a cop by making certain comments to other people, or carrying a weapon such as a gun or baton (night stick). It is all explained here on my website for those who are curious (and I have blogged a little about it, too.)

Funny: “does leather hurt?” Answer: yes, the cow who donated it for human use probably would say it hurts.

5. Funniest of all

  • shoes for cocktail attire

I just about died laughing when I saw this search ended up on this blog. It goes back to my April Fool’s Day joke where I spoofed about shoes to wear with cocktail attire to attend the latest guppy gathering in my area. I laughed because I am about the last one to be consulted on shoes and cocktail attire. I care for neither.

Summary: I hope you enjoyed this brief tour of what people enter into search engines and how or why they ended up on this blog. And before you worry that I have gone all “big brother,” no worries, I do not know who you are. I just see what you are looking for and where (the town) you are coming from.

Life is short: search on!

Black Cowboy Boot Memo

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Image above: my left boot at a rail above an indoor garden and water feature at this crazy-huge hotel/conference complex I’m in this week.

A memo must have been circulated, as I noticed a lot of men in black dress cowboy boots yesterday. I mean a lot of ’em — at least 30 if not more. Not bad, not bad at all!

These boots on me? Okay, I admit, after that fiasco with those “bootettes” that I can’t wear, I had only one other pair of cowboy boots that were also a “tad” uncomfortable. Since I am in Nashville (Tennessee USA), which is, after all, “boot country,” I found a nearby outlet and bought myself a pair of simple black dress cowboy boots by Dan Post. I got a great deal, though the sales tax is exorbitant. The boots look great and feel even better!

Problem resolved!

Life is short: wear your boots!

Blisters From Boots

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Yes, unfortunately, it happens sometimes. Some boots are made in such a way that their fit causes blisters on feet or heels. I have suffered that consequence sometimes.

My dear brother convinced me to try a pair of Kenneth Cole boots to wear while I am attending a conference this week. He thought I should be wearing something more dressy and “shoe-like” in appearance with my required jacket and tie.

The boots look good, and even though they are lace-ups, they are fairly easy to put on and take off. They go well with dress clothes.

However, I have had to walk A LOT at this conference, and by mid-day yesterday, my feet were killing me. Big blisters had welled up on the back of both of my heels. I went back to my room and took those suckers off. I applied moleskin and bandaids, then put on a pair of “footies” (short athletic socks) along with a pair of boot socks over them, and then put on a pair of dress cowboy boots. My feet feel better. I did not break the blisters, hoping that the inflammation will die down. I also did not want to risk an infection.

Sorry, ‘bro, I am very disappointed with those “bootettes.” They cause blisters and are generally uncomfortable. I’m going back to what I know works best: Dan Post, Tony Lama, Justin… dependable, comfortable, dress cowboy boots. We will have to talk about what I’m going to do with those Kenneth Cole “bootettes.” I just can’t wear ’em if they continue to cause blisters when I do.

Life is short: wear your boots! (But don’t wear boots from companies that do not specialize in making boots.)

My First Pair of Boots

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There is a thread of responses to a question about when you got your first pair of boots, and how old you were when you knew you were “interested” in boots on the “Boots on Line” discussion board.

I replied to it, thinking back to the days when I spent summers on a family horse ranch in Oklahoma. I was surrounded by cowboys and their boots all the time. I got my first pair of boots at a very young age, and I don’t quite remember how old I was — probably age 5, wearing those cute little-boy boots that they made at the time.

I remember that a sister was getting married when I was ten years old, and having quite an argument with my mother when she tried to drag me to a store to get a new pair of dress shoes. I insisted on wearing my boots. At first, my mother tried to talk me out of it, but realized that I wasn’t going to budge, so she just dropped it. I think she thought I would feel funny wearing boots when everyone else was dressed up at the wedding reception. Actually, quite the opposite happened. I loved having my boots be the center of attention!

From then on, it was boots only. I spent most of my time “back East” where I live now from about age 10, only going back to Oklahoma for occasional visits. In my early teen years, Frye boots were all the rage. I clearly remember wearing Fryes in Junior High and High School. I know that I must have had some regular cowboy boots, too, but I think I wore ’em out or trashed ’em (or both.)

I remember being fascinated by watching some other guys in class who wore harness boots. Soon enough, I got myself a pair, and wore them almost exclusively. I couldn’t stop fiddling with ’em during class, pulling on the harness straps until they were stretched and almost drooping on the floor. It was kinda cool, in a high-school-kid kinda way.

At age 18, I had saved enough of my own money to buy my first motorcycle. Along with it, I got myself my first pair of “bad-ass” engineer boots, made by Sears. I remember a guy in high school who always wore engineer boots. I think he was my first crush, though I didn’t really know it.

Anyway, I can remember placing the catalog order for those boots, then getting the call that they were ready. I rode over to the local Sears store and picked up my boots. I tore the box open and put them on right in the parking lot. I thought “I had arrived.”

I still have those Sears engineer boots and most of my Fryes, though no others from my earlier years. Anyway, I thank my buddy Bob for initiating the thread on BOL and some fond memories of my own.

Shooter Booted

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I got home from a conference I had been attending about an hour before my partner came home yesterday, so I thought I would try to update my website by taking some pictures of a pair of boots that I bought while on a business trip to Kansas City in early May.

Darn, though, it was raining. Oh well, the boots got a little wet on the outside, but withstood the rain just fine.

These are Boulet Shooter Boots. They are 18″ tall and are very comfortable. I posted a page about these boots here on my website.

Now, if I can only find the time to take pictures of another pair of Tony Lama cowboy boots I bought on that trip. Can’t do it when my partner is around as his list of “honey-do” projects is unending. Updating my website is never on his list, and I can’t manage to get anything else done when he’s on his mission with his lists. (smile).

However, this is the longest length of time between acquiring a new pair of boots and having time to take pictures and post them on my website that has passed since I created my website. Oh well, it will all get done, eventually.

Life is short: wear your boots!

From Winter to Summer

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A while back, I conducted a poll on this blog when I was wondering about getting a new pair of cowboy boots. Eleven visitors voted, helping me choose among three choices: Lucchese full quill ostrich boots, Nocona caiman boots, or Dan Post wingtips. The majority confirmed my thinking, and helped me select this pair of Lucchese cowboy boots (more pics on my website, here). I wore them yesterday when my partner and I did a very rare thing: we went out to dinner. We celebrated our anniversary at Outback Steakhouse. There’s one close to us, and enabled us to use some gift cards that each of us had received. We enjoyed our dinner, but the quality of the food has declined. Then again, I may only eat there once a year, so it’s hard to tell.

While I was considering wearing a full leather suit, when the temperature on the thermometer read 90°F (32°C), the leather remained in the closet and I went “cowboy.” I pulled on these Lucchese boots and my favorite Wranglers and a Harley t-shirt, and that was that. The boots are cool and comfy.

Man, we have gone from winter to summer, as I thought we might. Last week it barely broke the 50°F (10°C) range. However, in the past three days, it’s been hovering in the very warm range. Good thing, though — our trees are finally fully leafing out. As my partner and I were having our usual snuggle at dawn on Saturday, we looked out the window and both remarked simultaneously that we though the leaves were slow in developing. It just took persistent warm weather for the leaves to pop. (And the tree pollen, uggghh.)

Now that it has finally warmed up (and it is not zero or thereabouts with rain or severely damp roads in the morning), I am riding my Harley regularly to the Metro to get to work. Yippie! That’s one good thing about the warmer weather returning… bad thing was that it became so hot in the bedroom last night (not necessarily for reasons you may suspect), we had to break down and turn on the air conditioning. Go figure… no middle. In past years, I have always enjoyed sleeping with the windows open from mid-April to May, and listening to the birds greet us awake in the morning. But as our Koala reminds us, “our seasons are backwards.”

Thanks again for visiting this blog, and share joy with someone today! (Keep ’em wondering LOL!)

Sheplers Tempts the Bootman

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I wear cowboy boots every day when I go to work and when I’m not on my Harley. I have found that Sheplers, one of the western wear businesses that’s been around for a long time (both in brick-and-mortar stores and on the Internet), is able to get boot manufacturers to offer an exclusive line or style of boots through them, and them alone. You can’t find these boots from competitors (as best I can tell). I also discovered that Sheplers will feature these new styles in their printed catalog (one of the few companies that still prints a catalog) before they will put them on their website.

I received the latest Shepler’s catalog the other day, and as usual, I glanced through it with the full intention of just pitching it in the recycling can, when not one, not two, but three pairs of cowboy boots caught my eye.

What do you think? Which pair should I get, if I break down and get a pair? They’re all nice, and I’d like to have them all but even this Bootman has his limits. Share your opinion: (1) The Nocona Caiman Tail? … or (2) the Lucchese 1883 Full Quill Ostrich? … or (3) the Dan Post Caiman Tail Wingtips? Ugggh… the trials of a Bootman.

Update: Your opinion counted! 11 visitors to this blog voted in an on-line poll that I created, asking for help in making a choice of which boots to get. Six of the votes were for the Lucchese full quill ostrich boots (2 for Nocona Caiman tail, 1 for Dan Post wingtips, and 2 for “none of these.”) Thanks for the input. The order was placed for the Luccheses. I was leaning that way myself, and the votes confirmed my thinking.

Corrected

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It is interesting to find out how mature my website has become because I received the following message sent through its system:

location: Mercedes, TX

message: Sir,

I just wanted to correct you on where you say our boots are made. You say Mercedes, Mexico when our boots are made in Texas. Our Rios of Mercedes, Anderson Bean, and Olathe Boots are all made 100% here in Mercedes, Texas NOT Mexico. Please make that correction on your website as this is false information. Thanks!

(name)
Marketing Director
Rios of Mercedes
Anderson Bean
Olathe Boots

Well, I stand corrected. I looked in each pair of boots I have that are the subject of the message. The Olathe Buckaroos did have a small “TX” in them that I had not noticed. My Rios of Mercedes ostrich cowboy boots are so old, the printing on the inside of the boot shaft has worn away (or been sweated away.) I’ll take his word for it. Thanks, man, for letting me know. I corrected the appropriate pages on my website. I always strive to share accurate information. I wish more people would let me know if they run into things that could be made better. Few do.

For the record, it should be noted that Mercedes, Texas, is just about 8 miles north of the Progresso International Bridge at the U.S. – Mexico border.

PS: I don’t think boots made in Mexico are bad — in fact many cowboy boots that I have are made there and are comfortable and well-constructed. See my previous blog post on the topic of boots made in Mexico.