Because publishing is a difficult and dangerous business, just prior to the book tour I bought me a pair of big ol’ honkin’ steel-toed logging boots. Made the purchase from Ralph down there at Ralph’s Boot & Shoe. Ralph is not really Ralph, but he won’t object if so hailed. We ordered them in and the first pair arrived a little out of whack (best way I can put it is that the leather was twisted around a tad slaunchwise). Ralph took care of it for me, no problem, which reminded me why I like buying things like boots from businesses like Ralph’s. “Ralph” not only custom fits your boot (rather than just stuff my metatarsals in the nearest size he spent some time with the weird foot-gauger dealie and found a pair that actually matched my flat feet) but he’ll be around later to repair, maintain and generally make whatever little extra I might have invested well worth it over the life of the boot. Naturally I am aware of that a writer wearing steel-toed logging boots is clomping down that thin line between incongruity and Imelda, but I wear them in part to remind myself that while I am clip-clopping around the country nattering about prose, my brother and many like him are using logging boots to actually log. Thus when someone asks me if I’m tired of signing books, I can wiggle my toes beneath the safety caps and unequivocally state, “Nope.” I also wear them because I have always nurtured the theory that at some point the wheels are gonna come off the wagon and at such time a man should be wearing good boots. Even – or especially – if he is in the vicinity of a latte machine, as was the case earlier today. I furthermore admit I just plain like boots (got married in the most recently-retired pair), even to the point of preserving their memory in the service of cross-marketing (click on album cover).

Stops on the second leg of the tour, thus far:

View Michael Perry’s COOP book tour: Part II in a larger map

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