In my 60+ years, I’ve had a lot of shoes: Basketball shoes, running shoes, work boots, earth shoes, sandals, dress shoes, and on and on. But one pair really stands out.
When I was about 22 years old, I got a pair of shoes made of suede pigskin leather and equipped with durable rubber soles. Comfortable and tough.
Fortunately for posterity, I have a photo.
In 1984, I traveled from Iowa to Mexico and back. It was thousands of miles of trains, buses, walking, hitch-hiking, and private vehicles. These were the only shoes I had, and I wore them rain or shine. Wet or dry. And they never broke down or got rotten or stiff. They were the most reliable of traveling companions.
Looking back at my journal from that trip, I see that I even immortalized them in ink.
By the way, most of my doodles in that notebook where crowded onto the same page.
Carefully analyzing the drawings, one sees the influence of Mesoamerican motifs, cubism, the beach, critters, armed bank guards (?), and footwear — including the best shoes ever.