These Boots Are Made for Talkin'

G needed new boots. He’d worn down the soles on his old ones and hoped to replace them with the same make and model. The first store we went to didn’t have the exact ones, but he tried on a pair by the same company and found them comfortable. He decided to have a look around though. The second store had them, so the sales clerk found his size and G sat down to try them on. The clerk asked what kind of walking G uses them for, and G replied that we live on Salt Spring and he uses them for walking in the trails in the bush and on rural road. And that got the conversation going.
We found out from this young man that:
- he and his wife have the opportunity to run a B&B on one of the smaller Gulf Islands for 6 months
- they’re into permaculture and organic farming and thought this would be a good learning experience
- they’re going to the island on Monday to talk to the owners of the B&B and decide if it would work for them
- growing up, he was told that getting a university education was very important
- he has a degree in Social Work plus a diploma in Alcohol and Drug Treatment, and his wife has a degree in Communications. Neither can find work in their field of study
- all the staff members in the store have bachelor degrees and one has a masters. None can field work in their fields
- he’s very disappointed and discouraged that he can’t find work because he wants to contribute by using his knowledge and skills to help people
- he and his wife came out of university with sizeable student loans which they’ve repaid
- he was raised on a remote reserve in Northern Ontario
- he has status (it wasn’t apparent that he was First Nations. He was quite fair and had blue eyes)
- they can’t afford to continue living in Victoria and plan to move to a smaller community on Vancouver Island that has great hiking and fishing opportunities
- they hope that they’ll be able to save enough money from the B&B job to buy a trailer to live in when they move

We talked about how their situation is so common among university-educated young people these days, even those with masters degrees or doctorates; the politics around people making a living wage; the impact that increases in fares on the ferries has impacted the economic situation on coastal communities; the protest that’s taking place next week against further fare increases and cuts in ferry services.
At some point in the conversation, G tried on the boots and said that they felt like they were two different sizes. Sure enough, he’d been so engrossed in the conversation that he’d put on one from the box and the one that had been on display.
More conversation at the till, boots paid for, handshakes, wishing him and his wife all the best - and we were on our way. Luckily the store wasn’t busy, but I suspect it wouldn’t have made a difference if it were. So G got his new boots and we had a great conversation to boot! The only thing I should have asked was how they ended up in Victoria.
I love it when encounters like this happen in unexpected places and conversation flows openly and freely. As I write this, it occurs to me that I never once thought I should ask to take his photo for a blip, even though he was very photogenic sitting cross-legged on the seat and I had my camera with me. While I really admire blippers who can ask to take photos of strangers and love looking at the incredible portraits they post, it isn’t for me. That’s an important realization.