Retirement: An ode to my favorite pair of shoes

I know this is not what you are used to reading but do indulge me a bit and let me tell you about my old shoes. Old Faithful I called them.

You see, unlike women, most men don't often own many pairs of shoes. For the average man, two or three pairs are just enough. There is the pair for work, the pair for church and other social gatherings and then there is the last pair for kick abouts. This particular pair is often loafers or sneakers (or as they are more popularly known in our part of the world, Camboo).

May I state here that their respective purposes or roles do interchange at the least notification.  For instance, the pair for church can easily be called upon to play the role of the work pair. This i have come to understand is a no no in the world of women. But with us guys, we are cool with this arrangement. The shoes don't mind at all.

So, back to my old shoes. They were black Italian made leather pair. They cost me quite a fortune when I was getting them some four years ago. I gritted my teeth knowing that the month ahead didn't look bright after buying them. But hell, I needed new pairs of shoes! 

The shoe buying decision for most men isn't an easy one to make. We often calculate the quantity of kenkey that money could purchase and wonder if we making a wise decision or not. But my shoes have been worth the Cedis I bought them with. When I first got them, they weren't exactly comfortable. But hell, I wasn't going to give up on them. I wore them till they fit. I silently bore the pain of injured toes and blisters on my heels until my feet and the shoes became properly acquainted.

Interviews
I cannot recall all the numerous times Old Faithful was called upon to add some flair to my attire for an impromptu interview. I am inclined to believe that each man's survival story is linked to his pair of shoes.

The presentations I have made to one panel or the other wearing the blessed shoes would fill a notebook. When the rejection letters came through the mail after one job search or the other,  you guessed right, I had Old Faithful on.

Life Events
Over the course of time that I owned the pair,  I was involved in several life events. When my great granny passed on and I had the honor of reading the eulogy on behalf of great grand children, it was my old pair of shoes which supported me and gave me the needed confidence to face the gathering. 

When I gathered my family members and crossed the Volta lake to ask for a certain lady's hand in marriage from her parents,  I had Old Faithful on. I must add that looking at the way proceedings went that day, I couldn't have asked for a better support system than my old pair of shoes. Indeed a man's stories are etched deeply in the slant of the heels on his shoes.

When I emceed the wedding reception of Fanny Awuye's younger sister (yep, same sister she wouldn't hook me up with), it was Old Faithful which ensured that I was on fleek (as the ladies say it). If Stella Querida bothered to look down at me feet at her wedding, she would have noticed me and my shoes in pomp attendance.

Oh, the miles we have trodden together! From trips to Osu ( don't ask me for what), to Frafraha to chase some girl bi at a university there. When the bank job came calling and I had to go pick up my appointment,  we went together. And by this time, it needed some trips to the area shoemaker to make it 'wearable'. But the kind of leather it was made of ensured that it bounced back soon for the next appearance I needed to make.

But with everything,  the time has come to retire my shoes. I am not ashamed of what it has become. I am proud of all we have achieved together. The places we have gone as a team. Our successes and failures. Now I have new pairs,  and yes, they are for different occasions. Lord knows what new experiences await us.

If you want to know the story of a man, ask him about his shoes.