New Shoes

I was given a new pair of Merrell Solo Origins thanks to Merrell and Outdoor Nation this summer and I loved the shoes right away... the only problem was that there was someone else who needed them far more than I did... This is the story of my Merrell Solo Origins.


So while on a Wilderness Survival Class outing I noticed one of my campers had flip-flops on... not the best choice for outdoorsy things, but they weren't your Wal-mart foam-style flops either. Anyway, in concern, I proceeded to ask "Where the heck are your shoes..." to which he responded "It was either these or my dress shoes... I have no others..."


This made me cringe for two reasons: first because I can imagine the pain his feet must have been in from the northern Wisconsin backcountry... and secondly because he really was so enthusiastic about the outdoors that he decided to take this class even if it meant going in flip-flops! It wasn't until we had started taking a hike that I thought to myself "oh...I have 3 pairs of shoes in the car, he can borrow a pair for the weekend..." So when we arrived at the vehicles I quickly ran to the trunk of my car and pulled out my Merrell Solo Origins and I said "Here, take these...Merrell Solo Origins, it'll be a bit more protection for your feet than those flops will be!"


Graciously he put them on and wore them the rest of the trip. When it was time to go the group elected to stay another night in the outback, so I left them some gear (and the shoes) and said I'd pick it up from them when they got back. I got a Facebook message the next day from all the students, who had decided that my nickname for the trip was "Dad", explaining they were all safe and had a great time; they guy I borrowed the shoes to said he'd return everything to me that I had left that week, so we set up a time and planned to meet up...


 Meeting at UWM's campus we stood and talked for a minute about the trip and how much fun it was, I was so happy to see someone so impacted by the outdoors... I'm not sure what came over me... but when the time came for him to hand back my stuff... I took everything... but said "Keep the shoes dude, I think you'll get much more out of them than I will."


THIS was NOT planned... what was I thinking? A perfectly good pair of shoes that I really did like... not cheap either (now looking at the price knowing I'll have to cough it up for another pair)...It's not that I didn't like the shoes, I love them in fact, but it just seemed so wrong that I had 3 other shoe/boot options in the trunk of my car alone (and more at home) and this guy had next to nothing for his feet for his daily living... much less for hiking and surviving the wild! Walking back to my car I mulled it over balancing the thoughts of "stupid decision" and "RAK" (Random Acts of Kindness) over in my head and before I could even put my key in the lock I knew what I did was the right thing.


So what... I lost a good pair of shoes... I have more... and now he has a pair which he can go just about anywhere with. I'll pony-up for my next pair of Solo Origins with a happy heart knowing I did something more than just teach someone how to get outdoors, I actually gave them the tools to GTFO*! Hope you're wearing them well Sir, I'll be seeing you soon!