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.)

Dress Instep and Bal-Laced Dehner Boots

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Tall black patrol boots worn by motor officers are eye-catching. Even to non-boot guys, I see lots of other people, male and female, young and old, watch motorcops and look longingly at their boots.

I have dozens of pairs of motorcycle police patrol boots, including six pairs made by the Dehner Boot Company. The company has received some criticism for making stock boots with plastic shafts (they call “Dehcord”) but I’m told by a lot of cops that they like the boots that way, since they are very easy to maintain a nice shine with a quick spray of furniture polish and a wipe-down.

Most cops have boots provided for them by their employer, so if they damage a boot with a plastic-shaft while wearing them for duty, the boots can be replaced at little or no expense to the officer. Other guys, like me, who are not cops but like the boots, aren’t as fortunate. Therefore, we have to be careful not to damage stock Dehner boots by exposing them to hot motorcycle pipes or excessive wear.

I’m a strange booted leather dude — I actually wear all the boots that I own. I don’t put on a pair of boots for the occasional leather fashion parade or fetish event and then wear dress shoes to work and sneakers around home. I ride my Harley, walk a lot, do construction, work in the yard, and go about daily life booted all the way. However, when I may be doing work that would expose boots to heavy wear, water, dirt, mud, or excessive bending, then I choose boots other than Dehners to wear.

Some guys have very strong preferences on the style of police patrol boots that they like. Some admire the traditional bal-laced instep. Some like an instep on a boot without laces — it’s called a dress instep. I like both. I really have trouble deciding if I prefer one over the other. It really depends, I guess, on what boots catch my eye when I visit my boot closet.

Anyway, here are a couple of recent videos that show these styles of boots. You decide.

Life is short: wear your boots!


Training Ankles of Patrol Boots

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The most important thing to do when you get a new pair of motorcycle police patrol boots — especially the combo plastic/leather stock Dehner patrol boots — is to break them in at the ankle correctly. When you do that, you are “training” the boots. You want them to bend at the ankle in such a way that they don’t form folds, or dimples, that go diagonally inward. If that happens, it can cause the inside of the boot to rub against the soft, tender flesh of the ankle and generate blisters or bleeding sores.

Believe me, I know from experience how this can happen. In the early ’90s, I bought a pair of all-leather custom Dehner patrol boots. I was thrilled with them when I got them. I put them on and hopped on my Harley for a ride. I walked in them a lot, thinking I was breaking them in.

Problem was, I did not take time to train the ankles of the boots before I put them on. I didn’t know that you had to do that! Unfortunately, those boots developed a “bad break” at the ankle. The leather at the fold where the boot shaft meets the foot folded diagonally. The result: agony. I started to experience bleeding sores on the back of my ankle.

I tried to “re-train” or “re-bend” the offending area and folds of the leather. I learned, though, that once the folds get set in place which happens by walking in them, the leather will not be “retrained.” I even soaked the offending area in water and stuffed the boots with kraft paper while they dried. I waited a week, then tried to “train” the fold at the foot. But it was a “no-go.” The boots creased at the same bad places. Now when I wear those boots, I have to put in a protective piece of plastic between my sock and the back of the inside of the boot to prevent rubbing. It’s odd to have to do that, and wastes time. But it’s the only way I can wear those boots without causing pain.

If you already have boots with a “bad break,” I am sorry — you can not “retrain” boots. Learn from my experience! When you get new boots, train them right. This is why I created this video, titled Training the Ankles of New Dehner Patrol Boots. I hope you find it helpful and learn from it.

How To Tie Bal-Laced Dehner Patrol Boots

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I observe what people enter into search engines that drive them to my website and this blog. A frequent question or keywords entered are along the lines of “how do you tie or lace up bal-laced patrol boots?”

You want the laces to go straight across from eyelet to eyelet, meeting in the middle where they are tied together in a simple bow tie.

Some guys have made the process seem to be very difficult or complicated. Heck — for this guy who almost failed knots in Boy Scouts, I can do it. If I can do it, anyone can.

However, seeing pictures of the results works for some people. Seeing the process actually done in moving pictures — a video — will be more helpful to others.

This is the reason why I produced the following video and posted it on YouTube. Hope it helps!

Life is short: wear your boots!

The following is courtesy of the Dehner Boot Company website.


I Won a Car!

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Yep, and it’s just about my speed, too!

This 1920 replica roadster was a prize that the local supermarket that my partner likes so much was giving away as part of a promotion during July. My partner talks so much about this grocer, its history, and operations.

We shop there often. From mid-June through mid-July, we would get an entry coupon for the store’s giveaway each time we shopped. My partner always wrote MY name on the coupons — never his own. He is such a private guy.

Anyway, I received a call last Saturday from the store manager advising me that I won this prize! I just laughed and laughed and laughed.

My partner and I went to the store last night to claim our prize. I not only got the car, but also a bag full of groceries. The store manager took my picture and we “drove off.” LOL!

N.B.: I am donating this car to a worthy local children’s charity in a few weeks. Meanwhile, my partner is enjoying it!

Homecoming

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Guest Blog from BHD’s twin brother

Hey, brother, I’m coming home! You know I enjoy my work and my wife and I love where we live over here in Europe, but it’s not home. I have always been like you — I get homesick from time to time. I miss you. I miss our siblings. I do not remember what our nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews look like. Man, you can’t get a burger in Paris like they serve at our favorite little hangout. You can’t call a five cent euro coin a nickel, because it is copper in color. While gelato is great, I miss ice cream from the place Uncle Joe took us all the time.

I’m coming home! I want to rent a Harley and go riding with you again, like we did last year. Go get lost. Try out your new GPS, and this time, avoid water hazards (smile)! Let’s ride to see the corn as high as an elephant’s eye. (Just don’t sing to me, please!)

I’m coming home! I want to visit with our family, and especially our aunt to whom you lovingly provide care. I want to listen to her stories, laugh with her, share with her, and love her — as you do. I want to play games with the little ones, see what the bigger ones are up to, and congratulate our niece on her big honor she earned last week.

I’m coming home! I’m going to talk sense into that partner of yours, and encourage him to ease up on the demands for home renovation projects. Sure, you are skilled and can do a lot of things — but you need to get out and enjoy life. Spend time doing things you want to do — and perhaps not as much (at least while I’m there) for what you have to do. I look forward to giving your partner a big hug and talking world economics with him. He’s so astute, intelligent, and interesting.

I’m coming home! Our birthday is in a few weeks. That’s when you will see me for a visit. Though I can only stay a week, spending time with you will be my birthday present. I want to see you wearing the present I got you (smile again). I love you, ‘bro, with all my heart. See you soon!

J

Where Was I 40 Years Ago?

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There are a lot of news reports and feature stories about the Apollo 11 moon landing on TV today. The moon landing occurred 40 years ago at 10:56pm EDT on July 20.

Back then, I was an eager 11-year-old who, like most kids my age, was fascinated by all things “space.” I had a model LEM (Lunar Module), and an Apollo 11 patch that I wore on a jacket.

Our family had been following news of the launch of Apollo 11 and its subsequent lunar orbit, then the landing of the lunar module on the surface of the moon. My mother let my siblings and me stay up to watch Neil Armstrong bounce down the ladder onto the moon’s surface and say his famous line, “one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.”

I read an article in The Washington Post about how to take photographs from television, limiting the strobing that occurs on TV. I took a lot of black-and-white pictures from our black-and-white television set. I remember watching the fuzzy live television beamed back to us Earthlings, and marveling at it.

I got to stay up long enough to watch the President speak by phone to the astronauts, then reluctantly went to bed.

The next morning I got up and developed my film. I printed dozens of fuzzy black-and-white enlargements which I shared with family and friends. I brought them to my father who was in the hospital. He smiled and complimented me on my photo development skills.

Where were you 40 years ago?

Summer Vacation?

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People around my office are gearing up for a major conference that our organization puts on. This year, it will be in a southern U.S. city. Without a rental car, I’ll be trapped at the conference hotel and wherever I can walk from there. I’m not looking forward to being stuck in a very expensive hotel property, but I don’t have many options… that is unless someone drops me a note and says, “let me take you and your boots away….” (LOL!) [If you write to me, I’ll let you know when and where I’ll be.]

After the conference, my office will be a ghost town as many will be going on holiday during August. A lot of colleagues are asking, “where are you going on your summer vacation?” They presume that I’ll take off during August like most others.

I am taking one week in the middle of August off work — for a “staycation” at home. My partner and I have quite a major project lined up for that week with contractors coming to do some renovation work in our home that I might be able to do myself if I had four months. Alas, as my eighth brother (AZ) keeps chiding me, “stop killing yourself! Hire somebody!” … we are. But someone needs to be home to keep an eye on things. So that’s my “summer vacation.”

A few colleagues make assumptions that when gay people go on holiday, they go to “gay destinations” like “P-Town” (Provincetown, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod.) Some have asked me if I am going there. Sure, I enjoy spending time at the ocean, but I’m one of those weird guys who actually likes to swim in the ocean, float on a raft, or go body surfing. The water up there is too cold for that. I have my eye on the Gold Coast of Australia… but that’s a different story for a different time of year, and probably won’t happen since my partner is unable to travel.

A few have asked me if we would go on a gay cruise. No way — yuck. Without offending the diverse Gay Community, let me just say that the clientele and what the cruises have to offer (destinations, activities, and food) do not appeal to my partner and me.

I resent that straight people assume that gay people always go to gay destinations for vacation/holiday. I’m just as happy with going to my Maryland Atlantic beaches or nearby Delaware, where I spent many happy times as a kid through adulthood. But I don’t like crowds — crowds of gay queens or crowds of screaming kids. When I go to the beach, I prefer late September or October, when the kids are gone (back to school), the ocean water is still warm, the sun and heat is not as intense, and the hotel rooms are less expensive. I can spend hours watching my partner laying on a beach blanket. I love just to gaze at him. (I’m still deeply in love with that hunky stud.)

I do have a few extra days of time off planned for the fall, for a very special visit with some very special friends. But I am the superstitious sort, so I won’t announce it yet. I don’t want to jinx the chances of one of these guys not being able to join us. My travel is already set, since the vacation time follows a commitment that I have confirmed for work.

I will concentrate most of my time off at the end of the year to enjoy Christmas with family and friends who live nearby.

Alas, I once had quite the wanderlust, and would take weeks at a time to travel to Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, or Africa. But with the economy the way it is, and with my partner’s inability to travel, most of my vacation time is a day here-and-there where I may saddle up on my Harley for a nice long ride, or stay at home to get things done.

Life is short: make the best of it!

Wet Boots and Bike – Updated

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I can now completely validate that Wesco Motor Patrol Boots are watertight. While on a motorcycle ride on Saturday, the GPS merrily led me along on a road that appeared as a connection between two main roads. However, the road that the damn GPS led me on became progressively more narrow until we came upon a ford! Who woulda thunk our ritzy county still has roads in it with fords?

Heck, this would have been fun had I not been attempting to lead a ride with others behind me. Out I plunged, almost dropped the bike, made it through, along with one other. But the rest of the riders turned back, and I don’t blame ’em. What a friggin’ dumb idea!

Oh well, the boots performed admirably! Never lost my footing, nor got my feet wet.

Life is short: try to have fun, even if lost!

Update: My friend, Bamaboy, is a whiz with Photoshop. He created a revised version of this photo, just for me. It is below. I am ROFL!