Farewell To Old Friends

October, 2017

I am coming to a point where I must say goodbye to an old friend and emotions are welling up.

It is a pair of friends actually, they are my trusty and often dusty TEVA – Omniums sports sandals.

They have served me so well and we have shared some amazing adventures.

Teva, the creators of my sandals, claim it is the Atomic Footbed, 20mm of Hi-tech composite that makes them so damn wonderful. But I know that it is much more than that; when you have shared so much together it becomes personal.

Together we have scampered up the mountain trail to the old logger’s cabin at the head of Princess Louisa Inlet in BC. The trip down was particularly tricky and my trusty friends held fast, through mud and over sharp rocks.

Much of their souls were left on the deck of another beloved friend, the sailing yacht Swan. Fiberglass non-skid decking of a sail boat is coarse and unkind to ordinary footwear. My Omniums were not ordinary footwear! They bravely held their place when the weather soured, keeping me forever safe and on board when seawater swashed over the decks and angles were a challenge.

Together we have ventured to some wonderful locations from the extreme to the sublime. I reminisce of the times I sported my sandals through the plush mossy highlands of Otovalo, Ecuador, or the rugged off-road trails of Omepete Island, Nicaragua.

Recently, a bath of sweat and salt water has rendered my dear friends rather odious. Stinky in fact, to the point of being rather offensive. Fear not, with a bucket of warm water and a generous dose of Central American All Purpose cleaner, it is mountain freshness once again. I can only hope that when the day arrives that I become this offensive, there will be friends near and dear that will know the proper remedy.

So when the time comes and the last mile is shared, what will be the fitting final resting for my tired companions?

A burial at sea? Tacked to a tree?

To be unceremoniously tossed onto a landfill somewhere seems so heartless and empty.
Omniums you have served me so well; I will sadly shuffle off to the mall, longing to discover a new pair of loyal friends.

the joyful travellers