Gettin' The Boot

I'm thinking today about how each individual's personality is composed of separate and sometimes conflicting facets and how those facets usually do not manifest themselves until that person is put in a specific situation. Vague, I know. Hopefully I'll make a point before this ends. Just bear with me.

When I was in college, a friend of mine forgot his boots at my apartment. I had been thinking about buying a pair and wanted to see if a trip to the boot store would be in my near future. Since we wore the same size shoes, I kept them for a couple of days for a test run.

When I walked into class the following Monday, a friend of mine asked if they were my a**hole boots. I had never heard that term so I tried to hide my puzzled expression and said something clever along the lines of, "Um, I don't think so". She further explained that most non-boot wearing men turned into arrogant jerks, or worse, whenever they put on a pair, the rugged footwear apparently giving them some right to act less civilized and more barbarian.

After realizing what she meant, I said I hoped that shoes didn't determine my personality. But I knew otherwise. Truth is, the boots did cause a minute change in how I perceived myself and my position on this earth. I walked a bit taller, literally and figuratively, and assumed that the world would somehow wait for me. It's been ten years since that incident and specifics are sketchy, but I continue to cling to hope I didn't act like an arrogant jerk, or worse, those few days I wore my friend's boots.

And in case you're wondering, I gave the boots back and another pair have not graced my feet since that week more than ten years ago. About once every other year, I consider buying a pair but quickly reconsider when I think of the term my friend used. Plus, I also have very vivid flashbacks of reading Beverly Cleary in elementary school and Mrs. Quimby telling Ramona to be more sensible when she was being bratty in her boots. So, I've worn my comfortable and sensible shoes since.

That being said, different facets of my personality do emerge under different conditions. And I think it's perfectly normal and socially acceptable, for the most part.

I may be loud and surly at a baseball game, but I would never act like that in church. I am extremely polite and on good behavior at work, but can quickly become insulting and boisterous among male company.

So, I guess everything does have a time and place. Except for boots, in my case.