June 19th: On Fashion

These are my Xtra Tuffs


It has come to my attention that a couple of my readers may not be from the Pacific Northwest 1) Welcome 2) I will give a little bit of background so this makes sense.

In Washington and Oregon it is never hot, rarely cold and almost always a little bit damp. So most people wear sandals year round, if your feet are wet, they dry quickly but if you are wearing socks and shoes you are stuck with wet feet for hours. In the winter it can get a bit chilly so it is acceptable to wear socks with your sandals if your feet are a little bit chilly. You might take some crap for it but for the most part it goes unnoticed. I grew up in Washington so I think this is perfectly normal. I went to college in Massachusetts, were I learned that what I think of as perfectly normal may not always seem that way to other people.

So how this relates to life on the Bering Sea...
There are two distinct areas on the boat. The house where you have to wear sandals of some sort and deck/factory where you have to wear your Xtra Tuffs. (Pictures to come, they are about the ugliest boot you have ever seen). Since you are switching back and for between the two you normally have wool socks on with your house sandals. I happen to have come down to dinner one night without my socks on, just sandals and the head cook came out and told me that I HAVE TO wear socks with my sandals when I am in the galley area.

So to all my college friends who tried to teach me about 'normal' fashion, by health code law, my socks and sandals are a prefered method of footwear. I guess that makes me the normal one!