In 1964, I was 12 years old when Ford introduced the all new Mustang. They were certainly great looking cars and the manufacturer had one of the most successful vehicle launches in their history. They sold more than one million of them in the first two years of production. Soon all the other car companies were coming out with the “long hood, short deck” copy of the pony car.
A couple of years later, being about 14 or 15, I was in a Father and Sons shoe store in Milwaukee. I think it was around Fond Du Lac and Hampton Ave. I don’t know what kind of shoes I originally went in for, but as I walked down an aisle, I came across a display that had some boot/shoes called the Mustang. As soon as I saw them, I had to get myself a pair of those babies, one way or another! My jaw dropped as I inspected a pair, impressed with the really cool Mustang logo, pointed toes, and inch and a half heels. There was a vertical zipper on the inside ankle to easily get them on and off. I found a pair that fit and wasn’t leaving without, thankfully I had enough money on me to buy them. Only after I left the store, while on the way home, did I start to think about what my parents might have to say about this purchase!
I don’t remember them giving me much grief about it. I used my own money that I had earned, so I wasn't too worried they would force me to take them back. My plan was to keep my new Mustang Boots forever, so the next day I went and bought some metal cleats to nail on the heels to protect them from wear. It was the weekend and after hammering the cleats on the heels, I was looking forward to school on Monday.
Monday morning came and I was proudly clicky-clacking my way down the hall at school and started walking around a corner. I had never worn shoes with cleats before and failed to consider that those metal cleats could be slippery on the linoleum floors. As I came around the corner I slipped and almost fell on my ass in front of a couple girls. Quite an embarrassing moment! That surely took some spring out of my step as I had to think about how I walked the rest of the day. The following morning as I was coming down the hall again, a teacher came out of a classroom stopping me! He informed me that cleats were not allowed in school and I was to remove them after I got home, or else! If I came back with them on, I would be sent home. So, I went home and clawed them off, and wore the soles off before eventually having to toss them, but I sure loved those shoes!
