Pictured here are a pair of trusted old friends that shared
many adventures with me. My very worn
and broken-in Fabiano hiking boots. I
purchased them when I was 17 years old from, “Appalachian Outfitters,” an
independently owned backpacking and mountaineering store that closed long ago. Unfortunately it seems that the only time I
pull them out these days is when it snows and I have to shovel the walk and driveway
here at my modest homestead. But if
these boots could talk . . . oh the stories they could tell!!!
I pretty much walked, (even though I was hitchhiking,) from one side of this country to the other and back again while wearing these boots during a trip that began when I was 18 years old. I hiked parts of the Appalachian trail, The Rockies and The Grand Canyon while wearing them. These boots have been in more states than most of the people I know have been in! They weigh about 2 ½ pounds apiece and I even jogged while wearing them when I was living in Albuquerque and didn't have any running shoes *LOL*
They always kept my feet warm and dry in the most adverse conditions and they fit perfectly. The sales associate at Appalachian Outfitters made sure they were a perfect match before selling them to me. I put so many miles on them that I had to have them re-soled, which isn’t something that often happens and luckily I found a shoe guy in Towson, MD who knew how to work on Hiking boots. Unfortunately, like so many of the small, independently owned niche businesses, he too folded up shop long ago. It's hard to find a quality pair of shoes these days and even harder to find someone who can repair them. The whole aspect of producing quality items that last a lifetime and beyond has disappeared along with the people who knew how to repair things. In this throw-away world we now live in we just buy, dispose and buy again. That’s the way the corporations want it! They manufacturer products that are designed to fail and people devour them over and over like blind sheep. There’s no longer any integrity and they just want consumers to keep consuming. Nothing lasts these days because nothing is intended to last.
However these high quality boots were made to last and they’ve proven their worth and merit over time. They were designed by an Italian Immigrant boot maker in Boston MA, (Eddie Fabiano,) and fabricated in Italy by highly skilled Craftsmen. The company that was Fabiano no longer exists, having been bought out by a larger company at some point along the way but before they disappeared I found them online and was amazed to see that their hiking boots were selling for almost $500.00 a pair. I guess that all things being equal, the $65.00 I paid for them, which felt like an awful lot of money when I was 17 years old, is probably the equivalent of $500.00 today. If the quality was still the same then all I can say is it would be money well spent. They are worth it!
But now they mostly sit quietly in the back corner of my closet and I wonder if they feel lonely and unappreciated. I wonder if they are waiting for me to take them out for their next adventure. They see the sliver of light that shines in when I open the bi-fold door to reach for a different pair of shoes and I wonder if they get excited thinking I might be reaching in for them. Reaching in to grab them so we can set out on another cross-country jaunt. Reaching in to grab them so we can embark on another hike along the Appalachian Trail. Reaching in to see Glacier National Park in the Spring again as the snow melts and the green emerges. Reaching in to experience The Smokey Mountains in Autumn again as the air becomes crisp and the leaves turn the forest into a beautiful array of multi colored foliage. Reaching in to set out on an unknown adventure!! Reaching in to recapture the magic that we once shared together when we were both new and up for trying everything life had to offer. Reaching in to recapture something that has been missing from my life for quite some time.
*Sigh* Unfortunately the next time I reach for my Fabianos’s it will probably be just to dig out of the next snow storm, but who knows . . . Life is a mysterious journey and the world is full of wonder. There is magic surrounding us all of the time if we’re open to accepting what it has to offer. Maybe I'll reach into that closet and grab my old friends and put them on. Then load up my old Kelty Tioga backpack with the necessary supplies to survive, lash on my cozy goose down sleeping bag and head up onto the trail for a few days. It would be nice to get away from what has become my mundane norm for awhile! And maybe that little trip up on the trail will clear my head and lead me once again to destinations unknown. Lead me to a never ending highway and meeting people I could never have imagined I’d ever meet. Maybe if I reach into the closet and slip on my beloved Fabiano hiking boots I’ll be led back to the crazy days of my youth and provided with the escape I so desperately need just as much now as I needed back then.
What say you my Fabiano friends?
Are you ready for one final adventure?
One final journey?
They said yes!!!
Bruce Myers
Originally written 01/25/2016
Edited/Re-Written 03/19/2019
I pretty much walked, (even though I was hitchhiking,) from one side of this country to the other and back again while wearing these boots during a trip that began when I was 18 years old. I hiked parts of the Appalachian trail, The Rockies and The Grand Canyon while wearing them. These boots have been in more states than most of the people I know have been in! They weigh about 2 ½ pounds apiece and I even jogged while wearing them when I was living in Albuquerque and didn't have any running shoes *LOL*
They always kept my feet warm and dry in the most adverse conditions and they fit perfectly. The sales associate at Appalachian Outfitters made sure they were a perfect match before selling them to me. I put so many miles on them that I had to have them re-soled, which isn’t something that often happens and luckily I found a shoe guy in Towson, MD who knew how to work on Hiking boots. Unfortunately, like so many of the small, independently owned niche businesses, he too folded up shop long ago. It's hard to find a quality pair of shoes these days and even harder to find someone who can repair them. The whole aspect of producing quality items that last a lifetime and beyond has disappeared along with the people who knew how to repair things. In this throw-away world we now live in we just buy, dispose and buy again. That’s the way the corporations want it! They manufacturer products that are designed to fail and people devour them over and over like blind sheep. There’s no longer any integrity and they just want consumers to keep consuming. Nothing lasts these days because nothing is intended to last.
However these high quality boots were made to last and they’ve proven their worth and merit over time. They were designed by an Italian Immigrant boot maker in Boston MA, (Eddie Fabiano,) and fabricated in Italy by highly skilled Craftsmen. The company that was Fabiano no longer exists, having been bought out by a larger company at some point along the way but before they disappeared I found them online and was amazed to see that their hiking boots were selling for almost $500.00 a pair. I guess that all things being equal, the $65.00 I paid for them, which felt like an awful lot of money when I was 17 years old, is probably the equivalent of $500.00 today. If the quality was still the same then all I can say is it would be money well spent. They are worth it!
But now they mostly sit quietly in the back corner of my closet and I wonder if they feel lonely and unappreciated. I wonder if they are waiting for me to take them out for their next adventure. They see the sliver of light that shines in when I open the bi-fold door to reach for a different pair of shoes and I wonder if they get excited thinking I might be reaching in for them. Reaching in to grab them so we can set out on another cross-country jaunt. Reaching in to grab them so we can embark on another hike along the Appalachian Trail. Reaching in to see Glacier National Park in the Spring again as the snow melts and the green emerges. Reaching in to experience The Smokey Mountains in Autumn again as the air becomes crisp and the leaves turn the forest into a beautiful array of multi colored foliage. Reaching in to set out on an unknown adventure!! Reaching in to recapture the magic that we once shared together when we were both new and up for trying everything life had to offer. Reaching in to recapture something that has been missing from my life for quite some time.
*Sigh* Unfortunately the next time I reach for my Fabianos’s it will probably be just to dig out of the next snow storm, but who knows . . . Life is a mysterious journey and the world is full of wonder. There is magic surrounding us all of the time if we’re open to accepting what it has to offer. Maybe I'll reach into that closet and grab my old friends and put them on. Then load up my old Kelty Tioga backpack with the necessary supplies to survive, lash on my cozy goose down sleeping bag and head up onto the trail for a few days. It would be nice to get away from what has become my mundane norm for awhile! And maybe that little trip up on the trail will clear my head and lead me once again to destinations unknown. Lead me to a never ending highway and meeting people I could never have imagined I’d ever meet. Maybe if I reach into the closet and slip on my beloved Fabiano hiking boots I’ll be led back to the crazy days of my youth and provided with the escape I so desperately need just as much now as I needed back then.
What say you my Fabiano friends?
Are you ready for one final adventure?
One final journey?
They said yes!!!
Bruce Myers
Originally written 01/25/2016
Edited/Re-Written 03/19/2019
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