Urban wisdom suggests that a pair of shoes thrown over power lines is a clear indication of gang territory. Specific shoes are associated with specific gangs (in our neck of the woods it's the Imperial Gangsters and Insane Spanish Cobras), so it's not uncommon to find fancy sneakers thrown over the electric wires: a most dangerous kind of pissing match.None of that explains how this pair of 40s-style spectator boots ended up over the lines a block or so north of us. Or maybe my naivete is showing. Maybe these boots are a signifier of their own kind of trouble -- something having to do with the colors, or the height of the heel, or the impossibly pointy toes.
But I like to think of this as a kinder, gentler marking of space. Katherine Hepburn enthusiasts only! Pageboy territory! Shufflin' off to Buffalo and taking the A-Train, bub, so step aside and don't get in my way . . .
If you happen to have a very tall ladder and can check to see if these are seven-and-a-halfs, you're welcome to leave them on my porch at your leisure.
4 comments:
I tried to wing some clever comment about John's post-suckerpunch shoe score and how he has all the luck, etc, but I couldn't make it work. So instead I give you all the elements, as well as my befuddlement over these shoes now hanging from the line. So strange!
Oh man, you have to watch out for those roving bands of drag queens in Chicago. Haven't you heard?
Oooo - Maybe next time they'll toss up a pair of Blahniks! If you see anything in women's size 9, let me know.
I have to question whether it's necessarily gang related: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_274.html. One theory I liked is that it's a rite of passage for the now 'man' to toss her shoes over the lines after they, ahem, consummated. Tres classy.
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