*Author’s Note*
Yesterday, using a variation of this tale, I gave a speech at my Toast Masters club meeting. They enjoyed it so well, I was asked to try out for some competition happening soon.
The Snow Boot Debacle
By Patty L. Fletcher
January 20, 2022
Moon Phase Waning Gibbous
Blue and I were bouncing, as our feet hit the frozen ground.
The snowflakes were dancing and swirling all around.
The winter birds were all a twitter, trying to stay warm.
And I was fairly dancing with excitement for my boots had made it before the winter storm.
There’s nothing more frustrating than ordering something which costs 70 dollars only to have it arrive and find it doesn’t fit. That’s what happened to me in October. But the story begins much further back than that.
A few years ago, I had these most awesome ankles slip on insulated waterproof boots. The tread on the soles was wonderful, much like walking on snow tire treads. All thick rubber with these neat grooves which seemed to catch and disperse all snow and hardly ever did my feet slide unless it was seriously icy.
But as with all good things, my boots finally came to their end. In fact, I managed to ware out two pair in only three winters.
This year, having a young guide dog, who needs to be exercised multiple times each day no matter the weather meant I must have new boots. So, I began the task of finding a new pair.
I started by going to Amazon® and looking at winter boots but could not find the exact ones I’d had before.
Then, one day whilst scrolling through my Facebook Newsfeed, I came upon something that read, “Women’s Winter Snow Boots.” I double tapped on the link and soon came to a listing for women’s ankle snow boots which looked quite like what I’d had before. After a little thought, I ordered a pair and hoped they’d arrive before wintry weather. It was just a week or so before October first and I knew it wouldn’t be long before first the autumn rains then winter snow would fall.
As October waned toward November, I kept a watch on the mail. Sometime near the end of October, I finally received my package.
“Finally!” I hollered when I heard the thud of a package against my front door. “Move it Blue! It’s not for you. Well, kind of, I mean I have to have these to take your big bouncy self out.” I chattered as I cut away the tape on the package and pulled the boots from their wrappings.
I was immediately flooded with dismay as I held them up and ran my fingers along the quilted material. The first problem was that there were zippers on the front of them. I’ve arthritis. By the time I type all day, I can hardly bend them let alone zip a zipper. “How did I miss that when I read the description?” I wondered as I sat down to try them on.
Pulling the cardboard from inside the boots, I said, “If these fit, I’ll eat them. This is the smallest size 10 I’ve seen.”
I tried them on and had to force my feet in and then fight the zipper to get it all the way up.
A few weeks or so later when we had our first cold snap, I struggled into them but by the time I’d returned home my feet were numb but not because of the cold, I had no circulation.
“This will never do!” I growled in frustration.
Determined to find something comparable I went back to the computer and sat about the task of returning the boots which didn’t fit. To my dismay the store I’d bought them from seemed to have disappeared. I even had my daughter have a look, but she couldn’t figure out a way to return them either.
“Back to wet feet.” I grumbled whilst sloshing through puddles as I walked Blue in the rain one early morning.
When we’d splashed back through the door, and I had the animals settled I determined I would have boots to wear. But over the next few weeks, what with Christmas and other things it kept getting put onto the back burner. Then, it snowed and after walking through freezing drifts of the stuff in my summer sneakers I declared firmly, “No! More!”
Armed with a large cup of coffee, still shivering from my frozen feet, I sat down at the computer and determined I’d not move until I’d found boots. For the next half an hour I scrolled through order after order in my previous order files on Amazon® and finally, I found the boots I’d had before. But when I hit the buy it again button, it showed they were no longer available.
I, however, would not be deterred. I copied the name of the boots to my clipboard and closed out the browser. Then, opening a new one, I pasted the information into the search field and hitting enter, whispered a prayer.
“Lo and behold, I found them!” I yelled, causing Blue to leap off the bed and run to my side asking, “What? Where is it? What is it?”
“Sorry Blue.” I said, giving him a pat. “Go back to bed. Mommy’s just celebrating.”
After Blue had contented himself with a couple tosses of his beloved puppy doughnut ring from me and went back to bed, I carefully placed my order.
Finally, on a rainy day in mid-January my boots arrived and holding my breath, I opened the box, and began trying them on.
Stamping my feet firmly into each boot I stood and walked around my apartment. “Glory Be! They fit! YAY!”
Now, the snow is threatening to fall again but this time I’m ready so though I’m normally singing, “Let the sunshine in.” Today, I’m singing, “Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow. Because now, Blue and I can safely go.”
How about you? have you ever had a shoe or like me a boot debacle? I must admit, this is not my first time. Want to know about another hideous incidence of a shoe debacle? If so, keep reading.
Pathway to Freedom Broken and Healed:
Book One How a Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life
(Second Edition)
In the first book of her memoir trilogy, Pathway to Freedom Broken and Healed: Book One How a Seeing Eye Dog Retrieved My Life, Patty Fletcher shares how choosing to attend The Seeing Eye guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey, helped her to gain complete independence. But this decision would reveal glimpses into worlds she had never before known existed.
Once home from The Seeing Eye, Patty soon begins to realize that all is not right in her own world.
Watch your step as you journey down the winding path with Patty and Campbell, for there are many obstacles along the way. Through triumphs and tribulations, through tears and fears, that forever guide remains at her side. King Campbell works tirelessly to keep Patty safe from harm.
About Patty L. Fletcher
Patty Fletcher is a single mother with a beautiful daughter, of whom she is enormously proud. She has a great son-in-law and six incredible grandchildren.
Patty was born one and a half months premature, and her blindness was caused by receiving too much oxygen in the incubator. She was partially sighted until 1991, when she lost her sight after complications from cataract surgery.
Patty writes with the goal of bridging the great chasm separating the disabled from the non-disabled.
To learn more, visit: https://www.amazon.com/Patty-L.-Fletcher/e/B00Q9I7RWG