The Shoes

Once upon a time, during the summer of 1984, in a quiet little neighborhood on Wabash Avenue, Hammond, Indiana, there were a couple of neighbors. 

One Saturday morning, one of the neighbors was repairing his porch step (my hubby, Young) when his neighbor Mando came over to help.  They worked long and hard that day, it was 95 degrees and the humidity was at 90%.  It was so stifling they could hardly breath.

Late in the day, when they were pretty much finished, Emily, the elderly lady from next door, stop by to see what they had been up to all day.  They asked Emily what she thought of their work.  With a grin on her face and a chuckle in her voice, she commented “Not bad for a couple of shoemakers”. 

They decided they go in, take a shower, and meet back on the front porch for a beer.  In the Midwest porch sitting and drinking beer go hand and hand. 

As they sat there on the porch relaxing and drinking their beers, they reflected on their day and what Emily had said.  Laughing, Young said “Shoemakers”!  Mando chuckled, “Ya, your a shoe and I’m a shoe, together we make a pair”! 

Well the mosquitoes got so thick they had to move into the garage.  As the night went on and a few more brewski’s later, their chuckles and giggles became all about the “Shoes”.  “Were the Shoes” they boasted.  “Were in the “Shoe Box”!  “Were married to “Laces”, “they hold the Shoes together”!

And so the Shoes were born.  Mando would be known as Shoe 1 (since he was the oldest), and Young would be known as Shoe 2.

The Shoes became the club to beat all clubs.  All of the young whipper snappers wanted to be a “Shoe”, however, it wasn’t an easy task.  There was an initiation, a test to pass, and rules to follow.  Heck there were dues to pay that would cover future events (more brewski’s on the porch or in the Shoe Box).

 The Initiation:

Someone that wanted to become a Shoe was called a wannabe.  You had to be at the beck and call of Shoe 1 and Shoe 2.  You would wait on them hand and foot.  What ever they wanted you to do, you had to do!  Why it could be as simple as fetching a beer from the fridge, or as complicated as driving through a blizzard to go pick up a copy of their theme song “Under the Board Walk” by the Drifters.  The initiation lasted until Shoe 1 and Shoe 2 deemed you were worthy of becoming a Shoe.

The Rules:

You had to know in detail, how the Shoes came to be.

You had to know their theme song.

You had to be ready, willing and able to help a fellow Shoe at anytime, for any reason, even if it meant taking a plane somewhere.

You had to pay Shoe dues, for future events.

And you had to be a fan of the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs or Sox’s.

At one point in their history, the Shoes grew to have 10 members, and of course the wannabe’s, but as time went on, things changed, some of them moved away and the Shoes grew smaller. 

Today the Shoes live on, currently there are only “2 pairs” of Shoes.  Their fellowship and loyalty is as strong as the day they were born.  New wannabe’s are always welcome.

 Mando, Shoe 1,  Young, Shoe 2,  Phil, Shoe 3,  Mike, Shoe 4

Tailgating at the Chicago Bears Game

November 22, 2009