It's not a Sprint, it's a Marathon...

We went to a wedding in Marathon, NY a few weeks back (population 1107 - there's easily more cows than people). While unpacking the car Friday night after checking in to the hotel, I realized I had forgotten the shoes I was going to wear to the wedding. All I had with me for shoes was the stinky sneakers I had been wearing for the whole drive. The wedding wasn't until one o'clock Saturday afternoon. I figured we'd try to find something in the morning.

Now, at home, running out and picking up a pair of shoes on short notice is no big deal. Within 15 minutes of where I live, there are literally hundreds of shopping options (and three different Targets). In the middle of Central New York, it could be 45 minute drive to the nearest thing approaching a town. In many of these little farming villages, there isn't even anything that's been built within the last 50 years other than the gas station (and maybe a drug store). Large commercial shopping centers are few and far between. After that, it's just hills, cows and wide open spaces.

We were lucky enough to find a small men's clothing store that carried shoes in the town we were staying in, which lead to the following exchange:


"Where are you people from?"

"Rhode Island."

"Long Island?"

"No. RHODE Island."

"Rutland, Vermont?"

"No no. RHODE. ISLAND. The state."

(Thus further proving my theory that native Rhode Islanders never leave Rhode Island...)

We bought the shoes and moved along. We made it to the wedding with plenty of time to spare.
When I saw the group gathered outside the door drinking and smoking, I suddenly realized that it was not the kind of wedding crowd that I was used to. It was more of the cowboy hats and Lynyrd Skynyrd t-shirt crowd. The only collared shirts being worn were the plaid flannel kind.

Now, I'm not judging these people... It's just different from what I'm used to. Would anyone have noticed if I had worn my sneakers? Probably not. But I felt a little more comfortable (and I got a new pair of waterproof shoes out of the weekend).

Next time, I'll remember my shoes... and my cowboy hat...