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8 - Orono We Wednesdc -3, 2006 Basic Black by Arthur Black The shoes we choose... Remember leather shoes? There was a time not so very long ago when every middle-class North American male past puberty routinely crammed his feet into a pair of non-breathing, arch-crushing, toe-mangling toe-mangling leather shoes every morning as a matter of course. Now-a-days? Check out the feet of the next ten males you pass on the street. Unless you're at a funeral, a wedding or on Bay Street, I'll betcha eight of them are wearing some variation of what Canucks are pleased to call the 'running shoe'. I say hallelujah and good riddance. Those leather shoes of yesteryear were an abomination on mankind. mankind. My. old man wore leather shoes his whole working life. And each workday evening after dinner he stuck his aching dogs in a basin full of hot water and Epsom salts to soothe the bunions and corns caused by his lousy footwear. As far as I'm concerned, running shoes ('sneakers' to Americans) are the best thing to happen to men's pedal extremities since Madame LaZonga's Erotic Erotic Foot Massage. Of course, they're misnamed. Most of us who wear them seldom run and hardly ever sneak. And yes, they're garish and ungainly looking, blit Lordy, they're kind to the tootsies. tootsies. That said; there is the danger of Too Much of a Good Thing. Such a situation situation seemed to be playing out in San Francisco recently, where footwear fetishists fetishists lined up for an entire week in front of a store called Niketown for the privilege of laying down $295 US per person just for the privilege of buying buying one pair of running shoes. Not just any running shoes mind you--Air Jordan VI Retro basketball basketball shoes. So were these eerily- patient shoe seekers merely netball wannabes? wannabes? Aspiring athletes looking for some hi-tech gear to help them crash the NBA? Nope. They call themselves 'sneaker- heads'. They had no intention of ever actually, actually, you know, wearing the shoes they were so desperate to buy. They simply collect them, like foreign stamps or rare coins. As one sneaker- head explained to San Francisco Chronicle reporter Steven Ruben- stein, "Wearing them, would be stupid. If you wear them, the value Classified Business Directory Ross McKenzie Tax & Accounting Services 30+Years Experience Competitive Rates 905-987-5245 Pro Painting Wiry Wait... Book your spring projects now! Excellent Rates 905-983-5761 Clifford Francis Fine Finishes by T. Osmond COMPLETE Furniture Repair and Restoration Caning • Veneering • Carving French Polishes & Wicker Repair 905-786-2477 Experience You Can Trust Auto Wreckers.^ and Used Cars JOEMENDONCA Manager Phone; 905-987-4636 91 Cowanville Rd„ Newcastle, ON L1B1L9. Advertise Here! Call 983-5301 LARRY JACKSON PLUMBING & WATER CONDITIONING • Pump Repairs & Installation • UV Lights • Water Softeners • Free Estimates For Friendly, Expert Service Call 905-983-6214 Don & Christine MacKay Residential & Spring Cleaning ~ Window Cleaning ~ 908-623-6044 cmackay2000@rogers.com 'We're here to serve you" ROBERT E. JACKSON Heating • Electrical Air Conditioning Authorized Consumers Gas Dealer Independent Lennox Dealer Furnaces • Air Conditioners and Appliances Main Street Orono 983-6221 RESTORATION & General Contracting Inc. 24 Hour Emergency Service Water • Fire • Smoke Wind Damage Custom Homes Additions • Renovations inferlor/Exterlor Certified * Licenced Insured ADAM CUMMINGS 915-697-7172 adamrcl@bellnet.ca Complete Residential Renovations, Additions and Hew Structures Windows • Soffit • Interlocking Waterproofing " Doors • Roofing Ceramic Tile " Siding ;• •_ Eavestroughing • Chimney Repair - Specializing in Stone Facing - FREE ESTIMATES Call Mike Bonneau Mobile: 905-435-4181 Home: 905-983-9005 6495 Leskard Rd„ Orono LOB 1MC Roll-Off Bin Service For Renovation, Clean Up and Metals Call for prices 905-987-4741 goes down real fast. They get creases in- them." So what is the point? "They express your personality," personality," says another sncakerhead. "They speak up for you without words. They say you're hip, that you're not a follower. follower. These shoes tell you who you are." What I've always . craved--a pair of shoes to tell me who I am. Some people take their sneakers dead seriously. seriously. A kid in Philadelphia Philadelphia was shot and killed for his Air Jordans a few years back. Same thing happened to a guy in Houston in 1996. But perhaps the most bizarre sneaker story comes from the ' Mexi- can-American border where the coolest thing you can slip your feet into these days is a pair .of Brincos. Brincos--the name comes from the Spanish word for 'jump'--are at least as specialized as Air Jordan VI Rétros-- but not for the game of basketball. Unlike the typically lurid running shoe, Brincos are jet black, for camouflage. They also feature unusually; unusually; high ankle support, for negotiating treacherous treacherous terrain in the dark. In fact, they come with a host of oddball accoutrements--a built- in miniature compass, a clip-on mini-flashlight, plus a tiny pocket for painkillers- all of which sounds unusual, but is as nothing compared to one more strange feature you won't find with any other running shoe. Pull out the insole of a Brinco and you're looking at a detailed, full-colour map of southwestern North America--specifically, the best route to take from Tijuana, Mexico to San Diego, California. So who's likely to want a pair of Brincos? A very specific group- border hoppers. Latin Americans eager to enter the U.S. by the back door, without benefit benefit of passport or green ' card. .. Sounds like 'way too small a target group until you crunch the numbers. The U.S. Border Patrol estimates that 14.7 million million Latinos were ■ involved involved in 'illegal crossovers' crossovers' between 1990 and the year 2000. And the numbers are growing. On the other hand, anybody willing to risk their lives sneaking past rattlesnakes, Mexican banditos arid trigger- happy U.S. border patrollers patrollers probably doesn't have à whole- lot of discretionary discretionary income. Are they likely to lash out $215 U.S. for a pair of , Brincos? Sounds more like a PR stunt to me. Arid indeed, Judi Werthein, who created the Brincos, describes them as more of an artistic : statement than simple footwear. She says they show "how a product can mean different things .in different economies".. At the very least, Brincos bring a whole new relevance to the term «I * Transfer Station Mon -Fri. 8-5*Saturday 8-12 GRUNDY'S COUNTRY UPHOLSTERY 3375 Cone. Rd. 7 (905) 983-9874 www.grundysupholstery.com BRYON GRUNDY sTOml QEH33D3" Orono Veterinary Hospital Dr. Derek de Haari Dr. Mathew Stephenson 30 Cobbledick St., Orono LOB 1 MO Tel: 905-983-9010 Fax:905-983-5308 I ft T • Licensed • 27 Years Experience • Custom Homes • General Contracting • Additions • House Trim • Stairs • Decks •Windows «Doors • Barns And all carpentry- related work. IVAN JONES TONY FANARA Orono 905-983-5303 Hampton 905-263-9988 Debra Inglls Interior Design 4312 GoncV#6r1tyiclal 906-883-5800 Clarington Beech Centre 26 Beech Ave;,.Bowmanville Modern Facility Historical Setting Weddings, Banquets, Meetings || (30 to 250 people) Self-catering kitchen. Ill 905-697-2856 : ' ■ ■ ; CHATTERTON ELECTRIC RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL • INDUSTRIAL POLE LINE CONSTRUCTION Dave Chatterton Orono, Ontario Tel: 905-983-5546 If no answer: 905-983-5940 .. ■ - . ' ' . : The Orono Crown Lands Trust would like to thank all whose contributions made our Silent Auction and Annual General Meeting an overwhelming success. success. A special thank you to our Guest Speaker, Dr. Peter Schleifenbaum, from the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve Ltd. for an enlightening and informative presentation. SILENT AUCTION • Durham Farmers Co-op • Holiday World RV • Orono DBIA * Roy Nichols Motors • TSC Stores, Bowmanville • Apple Blossom Shop • Orono Town Hall Bd. Ray's Barbershop • Hooper's Jewellers • Evergreen Farm & Garden ; • Nokia Products • Terrens Wellness Centre • Cowan Pontiac Buick • CIBC, Orono • Hair with Flair, Creative Strands ... • Mosport International Raceway • Village Card & Gift Shop • Mr. Convenience • Wallace Auto Supply • Clifford Francis-Pro,Painting • Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve • Orono Country Cafe • Oshawa Ski Club • Keith Tregunna • Denise Ball CMA FOOD DONATED BY • Jeanne Burnside • Village Bakeshop • Armstrong IGA