Monthly Archives: September 2008

Frye Harness Boots and Bellbottom Jeans

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I am having a “retro” moment. Yesterday I received a pair of vintage brown Frye Harness boots that I recently bought on eBay. Why another pair of Fryes when I already have quite a few? Well, I got a great deal on these classic boots. I anticipate they will be much harder to find as more people find out that the new Frye boots made today are cheap imitations (more on that later). I wore Fryes throughout high school and college, and on-and-off for years following. The classic style, design, and “clunk” of a vintage Frye boot can’t be found elsewhere.

Back in the day, guys would wear Fryes with bellbottom jeans, as shown here. Bellbottoms? Man, I haven’t even though of that style of jeans in ages, yet I have a pair that I may still wear on occasion for “retro nostalgia” moods like this. I can’t say how often I’d look over at another guy’s feet to look at his square-toed Frye harness boots peeking out from under his bellbottoms, or look for the crease where the jeans and the top of the boot shaft met. (Hard to see with baggy bellbottoms!)

I ordinarily don’t buy boots on eBay, but when the write-up said that these were classic “biker boots” and had a rubber sole, I went for it, and won the auction. I followed my own advice and set a max price that I would pay. Fortunately, the auction bid up to just under that upper limit. Unfortunately, I found that the description was slightly inaccurate when it said that the boots had been resoled with a rubber sole and heel. The soles turned out to be classic leather. The heel pads were replaced and are rubber, but vintage Fryes also had rubber heel pads. I may just have a rubber sole added to these boots so I can wear them when riding my Harley. (There is a guy I know who wears classic Frye campus boots with a rubber sole that I have enjoyed viewing.)

I can not quite describe just what it is about Fryes that drives so many visitors to my website and this blog when I mention Frye Boots. The vintage Frye, with its double-leather lining, solid construction, tall 14″ height, just has a style all its own. New Fryes are made in China, are unlined, usually short (12″), and just don’t have the same quality. The company sold out in 2003 and a holding company bought the name and shipped manufacturing off shore. They charge the same prices as what we paid for vintage, but must be making a mint because the quality is so poor and it is obvious that the materials are cheap.

Update 01/22/09: This blog has been found by Jimlar Corporation of Great Neck, New York, which is the name of the company that owns the Frye name and has boots made by that name made in China. What I said about current Frye boots remains my opinion: they are cheap knock-offs compared with the boots made by the “real” Frye Shoe Company of Marlborough, Massachusetts when it was in business. Don’t be fooled by imitations! For details on the history of these boots, read the information at this link on my website.

No Holiday from Life

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Just checking in with my loyal blog readers: I’m okay — just incredibly busy now that Labor Day has passed and everything has returned to its usual craziness. Here in the U.S., we had a three-day weekend.

The boss gave all of us an early release from work on Friday. I got home and found three huge boxes of papers, charts, and graphs to review which had been delivered by courier earlier in the day. These materials are related to my community leadership position. Oh great… just what I wanted… (but expected). Lots of reading to slog through sometime this weekend!

The usual dinner with my humongous family wasn’t held on Friday night, so my partner and I ate at home. We found a great and unexpected sale on Maryland blue crabs at the grocery store. Since they had already been steamed, all I had to do was re-heat them. Man, what a feast! (So I had a “double-crab” weekend! See my previous blog post.)

After dinner, while my partner was watching some blather on television, I began to organize all the stuff I need to review. Charts here, graphs there, reports on this project over there… that project over here… and to think, this is what is not available electronically! What I received in printed form was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg! Sheesh!

On Saturday, I began the day at dawn with a warm snuggle that I always enjoy with my partner. I prepared a full breakfast using farm-fresh eggs that a friend gave to me. Scrumptious!

I then took some of my elderly friends grocery shopping, as usual. While I was gone, my partner mowed most of the lawn, and when I got home, I finished mowing the hill and doing some trimming. After that, my partner and I spent most of the day building storage for some of the boots in my collection. We then settled into having a quiet evening at home and an early bedtime.

Sunday, I gave myself a break to enjoy the incredibly beautiful weather as I rode my motorcycle with friends to a crab feast near Annapolis. I had this event planned for months, and I’m glad the weather was so cooperative. That ride was nice. Especially the return ride on back roads. But instead of stopping off at the end of the ride for ice cream with the guys, I just wanted to get home. I missed my man!

When I got home, I found that my partner had not only washed, but waxed my truck. What a guy! I don’t like to do that, and seldom have time. I tell ‘ya, my man is a keeper!

I recounted the stories about the ride during a relaxing soak in the hot tub with my hunk. After, we enjoyed a nice dinner that I grilled out on the deck and then we settled in our basement to … (well, we enjoyed each other with no TV, no computer… a little leather and…).

Throughout the weekend, I was keeping a close eye on the storm affecting the U.S. Gulf Coast, and handling several telephone calls. I was put “on call” in case I had to go respond to help out. But by Monday, it looked like my services would not be needed this time. Whew… I wasn’t really prepared to be gone for weeks and weeks, but would do what I needed to do if called upon.

Monday dawned bright and beautiful. Clear skies, abundant sunshine, and unusual in a lack of humidity. I was itching to go for a ride on my Harley, or just anywhere… but life has a funny way of interfering. Someone or some thing knocked over our mailbox on Sunday night, and it had to be fixed.

After looking at what I already had on hand in my workshop, I only had to get a few corner brackets at the local building supplies retailer for less than US$3. There were so many yuppies there in shorts, sandals, and sipping coffee from non-biodegradable styrofoam cups, yapping at each other on their cell phones within the store. Cripes, that drives me kooky. Oh well, I just got what I needed, paid for it, and made a hasty exit.

With the brackets in hand, as well as materials and tools that I have in my shop, the mailbox was replaced on its stand. Beats laying out more money to hire someone to replace the thing, which most others in my neighborhood would probably do because they don’t have a clue how to fix anything themselves. My partner applied a little paint and it looks as good as new.

I also had to run over to a house that I own to replace a malfunctioning circuit breaker, but again, that didn’t take very long (and beats hiring an electrician! I am so glad I got my electrician’s license years ago!)

One of my biker buddies dropped by for a short visit. Meanwhile, those papers won’t go away. The public hearing on Tuesday night won’t be delayed.

I could not avoid it any longer, but made the best of it. I took all the stuff that I “had” to read and piled it on a little table outside. I put up my hammock, and spent the rest of the afternoon reading… and reading… and reading… and reading. I found my laptop works wirelessly out in the yard, so I was able to review the on-line content related to the paper trail. I now call my computer a “chest-top!” LOL!

Oh well, I’m better prepared and should be in a position to deal with tonight’s event, answer questions, and have developed a list of questions of my own for anticipated speakers. I missed going for a ride on my Harley, but that’s the price I pay for being involved in my community as a civic leader.

Life as a community activist has returned more quickly than I had wanted it to, but that’s how it goes. Life is short: wear your boots! (I had to throw that in!)