A buddy I know from the “Boots on Line” board has been posting recently a question, “what boots did you wear today?”

With as large of a boot collection as I have, the answer is simple:

I wear more than one pair of boots every day, depending on what I am doing, where I am going, how I am dressed, and what transportation I am using to get where I’m going.

An “average” weekday includes:

* Any pair of boots at-foot when I rise each morning at 4am. Being a bit groggy when shufflin’ to the computer to check email and the day’s news and weather, I’m not too picky about what I wear first-thing. Always a pair of boots of some sort, as my “first-thing” routine includes going outside to pick up the daily paper that is delivered … somewhere in the lawn (the paper guy can’t ever seem to manage to get it onto the driveway or the sidewalk.) While in the kitchen, I prepare lunches for my partner and me to take to work (on days that we are not telecommuting). I enjoy hearing the clunks of my boot heels on the new tile that I recently installed in our kitchen.

* Changing to non-descript but comfy hikers for my usual early-morning 3-mile walk. I try to go walking with one or two of my senior pals every day. It’s great exercise as well as a diversion from the intensity of managing my partner’s care. I have installed orthotic inserts in those hikers as prescribed by my foot doctor, so I can return to walking for exercise once more (especially since I’m too cheap to pay for a gym.)

* Upon return, I shower and dress in what I wear to work. During the summer, I ride my Harley to my office (on days that I go there; sometimes I work at home). My boot choices include any pair of nice-looking motorcycle boots if I’m riding my Harley. I’ve taken a liking to wearing black or brown harness boots, sometimes my Chippewa Firefighters, or even patrol boots (with pants over.) If I am going to the office but not riding the Harley (it’s raining), then I choose dress cowboy boots. Again, many choices and I try to select a different pair every time — I can do that for several months and not wear the same boots twice!

* When I get home from work, I change again to jeans and work boots and go do a repair job or home visit with a senior pal or two. If I’m not doing physical labor, but rather may be taking a senior pal to a doctor’s appointment or the grocery store, then I usually wear cowboy boots. (I drive my truck since I can’t take a senior pal on the back of my Harley.)

* I return home no later than 5:30pm, and change boots once again. Often in this case I choose another pair of older but comfortable cowboy boots from my collection. I prepare dinner for my partner and me, served no later than 6:15pm each evening. (We never go out to eat.)

* After dinner, my partner and I retire to our basement to relax. I take the boots off, put on a pair of shorts, and pad around the rest of the night with socks on. Yeah, even this Bootman does not wear boots all the time.

We go to bed by 8pm or 8:30 at the latest. I may pick out whatever pair of “first-on” boots to have available to put on when I get up the next morning. That may require taking boots out of my bedroom closet, bringing them to my basement boot closet for storage, and selecting some boots from the boot closet to bring back to the “current rotation” in my bedroom closet. Thank goodness for “his-and-his” closets in the bedroom!

This is a typical day’s routine, but is always subject to change. Particularly on weekends where I do more activities away from the house, and usually on my Harley and while wearing leather.

That’s it — many pairs of boots means lots of choices. The right boots for the right application. But always boots. Never sneakers, sandals, flip-flops, or crocs. Bleechhh.

Life is short: Wear boots! Sneakers are for the gym and flip-flops/crocs are for the trash.