I was in a Los Angeles Nordstrom when I saw them. White Tretorns with blue trim. I have barely had anything else on my feet since.There’s an old school Lacoste tennis jacket that I still have, some Brooks Brothers polo shirts. For a while, I kept a sport coat of his that never fit right, but I didn’t care.
I also kept a pair of his size-seven Tretorns. They made several moves with me, even though they were two-and-a-half sizes too small and impossible for me to ever wear.
I kept his shoes with me when I was hired at the Chicago Sun-Times—my dream job at the time. They were there when I was hired at ESPN—an even dreamier job for me at the time. I can’t remember how or when I lost them. Probably happened during one of my nearly dozen moves over the last 10 years.
But in 2010, a few years after he passed, I was in a Los Angeles Nordstrom when I saw them. White Tretorns with blue trim. I have barely had anything else on my feet since.
And these last five years have been exciting ones for me, personally and professionally.
And through it all, I’ve worn my Tretorns.
- When I rode the Chicago El with my two best friends on my way to get married at a downtown hotel
- When we went on our honeymoon in Turks and Caicos
- When I spent three weeks in Bangalore, India for work
- When I power walked through the streets of Paris and the Louvre
- When I hoofed all over the deserts of Dubai and saw the world’s tallest building
- When I walked on the beach in Hawaii with the woman I love as much as he loved my grandmother
- When we bought our first home
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I wonder what Gramps would think of all the things that have happened since he died. He loved gadgets and technology. I’m sure he’d be amazed by all of our smartphones.I wonder what Gramps would think of all the things that have happened since he died. He loved gadgets and technology. I’m sure he’d be amazed by all of our smartphones. He would watch any tennis match on TV ever. I bet he would have loved watching it on the type of gigantic HD/4K curved TV that we now take for granted.
But that’s all surface stuff. By wearing the same brand of shoes he wore, I feel like he’s able to be a part of it all. Every time I lace them up, I think of him. I’m reminded of all that he accomplished, all he overcame, how proud he was of his family, and how much he’d want me to enjoy these moments and seek out these experiences.
In a lull in the conversation, Gramps would often give us grandkids two quick pats on the knee, look us in the eye, smile and say, “I like you.” It was such a simple gesture, but at the same time so wonderfully unique and genuine. Maybe putting on his shoes every day is my way of saying, “I like you, too.”
But that first pair of Tretorns I bought in 2010 have seen better days. They’re more yellow than white, they have almost no tread. It was clearly time to retire them and shell out for a new pair. It was only when I ordered the new ones online that I started to think of all the fascinating places I’ve been, the things I’ve done and the good people I’ve met while wearing them.
Our lives are made up of all these overlapping chapters. Births, deaths, jobs, relationships, pets, cars, homes—the list goes on. But I like the idea that mine will forever be divided by these sneakers.
And as I unboxed the new pair, blazing white and smelling nothing like my sweaty feet (yet), I wonder where the next five years will take us.
