A-Slippin’ An’ A-Slidin’ With His New Shoes On

In the Doc Watson bluegrass classic "Way Downtown," there’s a stanza that goes:

It was late last night when Willie came home
I heard him a-rappin’ on the door
He’s a-slippin’ an’ a-slidin’ with his new shoes on
Mamma said Willie don’t you rap no more

The line in blue may not be overly meaningful to a lot of folks today since they don’t wear shoes with leather soles, but it’s instantly intelligible if you do.

The reason is that when you buy leather-soled shoes, the leather at first is slick. It’s cured in a way that toughens it up to serve as . . . well . . . shoe leather, and the process makes it quite smooth. As a result, when you first put on a new pair of leather-soled shoes, you really have to watch your step because you’ll go slipping and sliding if you’re not careful.

It takes a day or two of walking around (particularly on asphalt and rough concrete) to get the bottoms of your shoes scuffed up enough that the slipperiness goes away. After that, you’re all set.

(Until you wear through the shoe leather and it’s time to get your shoes re-soled.)

I was put in mind of all this because on my Arizona trip my boots finally wore out. I’d already had them re-soled, and the leather on the sides had cracked where my little toe is. I’d had that patched, but on the AZ trip I hiked around so much that the patches broke and the leather ruptured in a way that made it impossible ot patch them again without the patch being obvious.

So it was time for new boots.

It had been for a while anyway, and I’d planned on getting some new ones before the Catholic Answers cruise in a couple of weeks (wouldn’t do to be going to fancy dress dinners with worn out boots!), so I went out yesterday after work and bought some.

As a result, today I was in the period where I was a-slippin’ an’ a-sliding with my new boots on.

But that’ll be over by tomorrow at the latest.

Oh, and here’s a picture for any who are curious (figgered I’d better explain them or I’d get questions when I post the next footfall mystery photo).
New_boots

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

23 thoughts on “A-Slippin’ An’ A-Slidin’ With His New Shoes On”

  2. We mourn the passing of your trusty old boots.
    Long live the new boots!
    Those pointy toes look perfect for kicking heretics in the butt!
    Figuratively speaking, of course…

  3. Jimmy, I’ve been meaning to ask you about this. Can you comfortably walk in your boots? I got a pair of boots and walking in them strains my legs. Is it just something I have to get used to?

  4. Oh, also, they told me when I bought them that they should be “comfortably snug.” When I walk, my heal lifts up a bit. Does that mean they’re not snug enough?

  5. What’s that “material” on which the boots are placed? Your home floor covering or your office floor covering?
    I like your term “fancy dress dinners”, it reminds me of Granny Clampett’s decription of their “dining room and table”

  6. I should send a pic of my African bison boots, which I like to tell everyone are baby harp-seal boots. 🙂

  7. Can you comfortably walk in your boots? I got a pair of boots and walking in them strains my legs. Is it just something I have to get used to?
    I don’t know about boots, but different kinds of shoes do require different ways of walking, and that sometimes means using muscles differently.
    If you switch from sneakers to Birkenstocks, for example, you’ll find that it takes a while to adjust. Some muscles you didn’t use the same way before may get sore during that time. But once you’re used to walking in Birks and have broken ’em in, few shoes are so comfortable.
    Boots probably have their own quirks.

  8. What is that ‘animal hide type rug thing’ that those boots are sitting on?
    And if it was alive once, did you kill it ?
    God bless.

  9. Ted-
    As a former boot wearer, my inderstanding is that a little slippage in the heel is normal. You do get used to it.
    If there were no room in the heel, the boot would probably be impossible to pull on.

  11. Jimmy, I’ve been meaning to ask you about this. Can you comfortably walk in your boots? I got a pair of boots and walking in them strains my legs. Is it just something I have to get used to?
    I’m extremely comfortable in boots. I wear ’em every day. The commenter above is correct that some different muscles get used depending on what footwear you use, but the adjustment time shouldn’t be very long. Probably a few days at most.
    Oh, also, they told me when I bought them that they should be “comfortably snug.” When I walk, my heal lifts up a bit. Does that mean they’re not snug enough?
    I ignore that “comfortably snug” stuff. I like my boots loose so that they’re easy to slip on and off. It’s a special problem for me because my feet are extra-wide and it’s hard to get boots (or any shoes) in the width I need.
    Over time, I invariably break out the sides of the boots because my feet are so wide (that’s why the last pair cracked where my little toe is–’cause that’s the widest part of the foot).
    Your heel is supposed to rise up when you step. They say it should rise up a quarter of an inch, but I wouldn’t worry about precisely how much.
    What’s that “material” on which the boots are placed? Your home floor covering or your office floor covering?
    Home. It’s a rug I put on my living room floor.
    What is that ‘animal hide type rug thing’ that those boots are sitting on?
    And if it was alive once, did you kill it ?
    Didn’t kill it. I bought it. It’s a cowhide rug, though it’s starting to get a little worn in one spot, so I’ll probably need to get a new one before too long.

  12. I wear ’em a little loser than seems to be reccomended too. Ah, well, I don’t care and neither do the cows or sheep seem to.
    My question, though, dare I say…are those flames along the outside of the little toe?!?

  13. Con’t-accidently pushed enter
    Oh, and if you are wearing them out often, you may want to look into crepe soles. Those look great, though! Guys have such a better selection!

  14. Cowhide as a household soft furnishing is all moooos to me! I realise when I hear stuff like this that there are many differences between our cultures/countries…for which I am becoming increasingly grateful!
    God Bless!

  15. I tend to have sore legs a few days after I start wearing new shoes. Then I have worn down the outer heel enough that I can walk normally for me.

  16. Cowhide as a household soft furnishing is all moooos to me! I realise when I hear stuff like this that there are many differences between our cultures/countries…for which I am becoming increasingly grateful!
    Hey, don’t knock it before you try it. You should come over and have some good ol’ American blood wine and a big, wriggling plate of gagh.
    Now that’s good down home eatin’!

  17. Leather soles are an absolute necessity for swing dancing – for spinning and twirling if not slipping and sliding. Not sure I’d want them on shoes for street wear, though.
    And I really, really did not need that “gagh” link. Not having been a Star Trek fan, I didn’t know what it was, so I clicked. Excuse me while I go take a Maalox.

  18. Ah, see I caught the hiking and didn’t think about the dancing. I have a diff. pair I wear for dress- for show and going out on the town and whatnot. I was thinkin’ street wear, so-to-speak.

  19. The “cordovan” (sp?) color is great — it goes with everything!! At least I think so… I long for my college days when everyone wore cordovan pennyloafers. We’d buy a good pair and just re-sole them when they needed it. I wore mine constantly. I’d buy another pair now, ‘xcept I can’t find them these days.

  20. Love the cordovan color – like the pennyloafers we used to all wear back in college… Goes with everything!

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