It has been said that people can tell a lot about you by your shoes. Whether or not this is true is anyone’s guess. But if you ever want to kill some spare time with your own mini anthropological study, go online and search for pictures of dirty shoes. You will be amazed at what you find.
We all take dirty shoes for granted. They are part of life. But it is interesting to step back and look at different pairs of shoes and the type of dirt they display. Oh, the things some shoes would say if they could talk. They would tell stories of where they’ve been, what they’ve done, and who wore them.
It is worth noting that companies like Salt Lake City’s GC Tech make slip-on dress shoe covers for professional men. The men who wear them enjoy a level of protection they might not get with cheap silicone overshoes. The interesting part is that their shoe covers show the dirt even though the shoes underneath do not. Those dirty shoe covers can tell just as many stories as a dirty pair of uncovered dress shoes.
A Pair of Muddy Sneakers
Searching online pics for dirty shoes turns up a lot of images of muddy sneakers. A fair number of those images show children’s sneakers. You now have an image in your mind, don’t you? Dirty kids’ sneakers tell stories of the little ones running and playing happily in the mud. Mom is shaking her head in frustration while Junior is having the time of his life jumping in mud puddles and rolling around in the slop.
Those are the kinds of things that childhood memories are made of. As older adults, we can think back on such things and smile because we cherish the memories. At the time it’s happening though, dirty sneakers are enough to drive a parent over the edge.
A Pair of Dusty Work Boots
Work boots are another popular subject of dirty shoes photos. You see some boots splattered with paint while others are covered with the dust of the earth. If you pay close attention, you can tell what kind of work the wearer did by the dirt the boots display.
A pair of boots worn by a house framer would show splotches of wood adhesive and traces of sawdust. Any clean patches of leather would be sun bleached to some degree. Likewise, a pair of boots worn by a farmer would show the natural stains of mother earth. It is amazing what you can see if you just pay attention.
A Pair of Beat-Up Cleats
Some photos of dirty shoes show images of beat-up cleats that have obviously seen better days. It is easy to gaze at a picture and imagine the wearer running down a soccer field at full speed before scoring the goal that wins the World Cup. You might see another pair and imagine a baseball player sliding into second base for a successful steal.
A Pair of Old Combat Boots
Perhaps the most profound of all images portray old combat boots worn by a brave soldier. They show the dirt and filth of so many marches through the muddy fields of war. You can almost hear shells exploding overhead. They are a somber reminder that freedom is never free.
Sometimes it seems like we miss so much of the world around us because we don’t slow down long enough to pay attention to the details. Some of those details are found in the dirt on our shoes. Oh, yes. Dirty shoes say interesting things.
