Boots on the Cobblestones

Greetings from Charleston, South Carolina, USA. I am here for a meeting for work. The meeting is going well. It's busy, and nice to meet some new folks and get reacquainted with some people I have met and worked with years ago.

Last night, the group went to dinner at a pub not far from the hotel where I am staying. Charlestown is a very old city, and the downtown has many cobblestone sidewalks.

After dinner, several of the others wanted to go out for a drink elsewhere. I was tired and wanted to return to my hotel, call my partner and catch up on the news and hear his voice. I miss him a lot when I travel.

As I was walking alone back to the hotel down the lonely cobblestone walk, I heard my cowboy boots making a very distinctive "boot clunk" as a walked along. The clunk was reverberating on the buildings and walkway. It was an interesting sound -- a Bootman on the street.

I thought no one was around, but a guy came up behind me. I was startled a little bit, and he apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you, man. But I heard those boots and wanted to get a closer look."

Turns out he is a Bootman himself. He admired my Nocona ostrich cowboy boots, and told me about his Justins. Soon enough, I was at my hotel. He smiled, and said, "keep the boots on." I smiled back, thanked him, and told him to do the same.

A nice encounter on my way back. My partner laughed when I told him about it.

Life is short: wear your boots!