Socks With Sandals

I miss my dad. I really do. He passed away in 1989, and there isn’t a day that something doesn’t remind me of him. Today it was a guy at Walmart. I really should take my camera to Walmart. People wear pajamas, and cowboy boots with pajamas, and today, socks with sandals. Which reminded me of my dad.

When you are a teen-ager, everything embarrasses you. Dads especially. And my dad just didn’t know how to dress. For most of his adult life, he wore suits. He was a realtor and looked nice every day. It was his casual wear that was, well, a casualty. He would come into the kitchen wearing a striped shirt with plaid shorts.

“Oh, my God, Dad, you can’t wear that!  You don’t match at allllllll.”

“Well, I match. (he sounded just like Ronald Reagan) It has blue in the shirt and blue in the pants.”

“Dad, you have to wear a solid color when you wear plaids or stripes.”

So, my dad would walk back to his room and come back with a yellow shirt, even though there was no yellow in the pants. You can only do so much, as I had another problem with his wardrobe. One that I was sure would never change.

“Dad, you can’t wear socks with sandals.”

“Why not? The straps hurt the back of my feet.”

“But, Dad, the reason a person wears sandals is to let the air hit their toes.”

“But, I don’t want my toes to be cold.” And off he would go, wearing socks and sandals.

He wore socks with sandals every summer. He would never wear white socks. He wore his work socks with the sandals, which in my opinion, looked much worse. Thin little black socks with brownish sandals. Plus, Dad was bow-legged. Boy, was he bow-legged. Now add an ugly pair of plaid shorts with a different colored shirt. Voila, an outstanding outfit. I would be mortified if he had to drive us places and had to get out of the car.  Teen-agers are retarded. Yes, I used a politically incorrect word, but that’s what we were. Retarded.

I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that if it is warm enough for sandals, it is too warm for socks. If it is cold enough for socks, then it is too cold to wear sandals. What’s next? Pantyhose with Saddle shoes? I only mention that because I wore fishnet hose one time with my saddle shoes after seeing a cool high school girl wearing them. It didn’t get the same reaction for this goober of a 7th grader.

I always have wondered where this fashion no-no started? I’m thinking a tourist started it. He already had the camera around his neck and plaid shorts. Maybe the hours of touring hurt the back of his heels from those damn straps on his sandals. So, he went back to his hotel room and put socks on with the sandals. He didn’t care how he looked, because he was just with his wife and kids and no one else knew him.  But, ah, someone must have taken his picture. And showed it around. Maybe another tourist with bleeding heels saw the new combination and he too, returned to his hotel room and changed. I really think I am on to something here.

So, when I see people wearing socks with sandals, I always give them a smile. One, because they do look ridiculous. And two, it reminds me of my dad.

Yellow shirt and plaid pants...and socks with sandals

Oh, how I wish I could see him just one more time in those socks and sandals.

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