Teva Terradactyl
Patti Swinburne
September 22nd
As a faithful Teva fan for 11yrs. now, I have been encouraged by my travelling companions and staff at REI to write you my phenominal experience with my lifetime favourite sandals.
I bought my first pair in 1996...the wonderful Terradactyl...and am still wearing my original pair. I start wearing them as soon as spring arrives and do not retire them until at least the end of September each year. I have also worn the leather "Pretty Rugged" but go back to my original pair and am fearing their demise. They have travelled with me the length and breadth of New York City twice, then this summer France to Istanbul and finally ending in Greece this past July. As we exited the Athens airport and were loading our luggage into a taxi, another taxi drove along side and ran onto the toes of my right foot. What a shock to look at my foot, not able to move and my travelling companion said, "Your Teva has saved your foot." She witnessed my Teva absorbing the shock/weight of the taxi and squishing to the asphalt as flat as a pancake. When the taxi finally reversed off my foot we were all amazed to find I could walk and there was no damage to my foot OR to my precious Teva. You can only ima gine how appreciative I am and love my Tevas even more. As an aside, I took a picture of my foot in my Tevas in many places across Europe this summer.
I have searched to try and find new Terradactyls yet am told they no longer exist. Do you think after 11 years I should take the risk and try the close (but no cigar??) model called the Terrafye (?)?? Should I be your spokesperson for the protective aspect of Tevas? I have tried other sandals...Ecco, Joseph Siebel, Rockport...and always return to my faithful (sadly, old) Tevas. I have recommended Tevas to my friends and have made converts of some of them too.
So, in closing I just wanted to tell you my story and say I must be your biggest fan in the world.
Cheers, Patti
Comfort... and a breeze, too!
Debra Ketchner
September 22nd
I was on a People to People trip to Europe, and we were in Greece. Our group was taking a hike through the city, and we were going to hike all the way up to the acropolis. I decided to wear my Teva flip flops for this trip, as the weather was supposed to be incredibly hot, and I didn't want to be wearing my hot, leather sneakers. When I got to the place where we were gathering to get on the bus, one of my leaders said "Oh, no, Debra. You can't wear flip-flops. We are going to be hiking 3 miles today!" (She said "3 miles" like it was FAR). I said, "No worries, they're TEVA's!" And she said, "Oh, okay." And so, while my friends were all hot in their sneakers (or sore, in their flats!) I was wonderfully cool, with all of the support of sneakers, yet all of the convenience and coolness of flip flops.
Debra
P.S. I went for a run this summer in my Teva's as well... I forgot my running shoes, so I was just like, "No worries.... they're Teva's!" and ran in them!
Avoiding Soul Separation
Arlene Birt
September 20th
Dear Teva Gods,
Throughout my life as nomad and a designer, my Tevas and I have been one while hiking Cinque Terra; wadding the Italian coast; climbing Minnesota cliffs and French mountains; canoing rivers all over the U.S.; mucking through Dutch flat-lands; across Europe's pebble-stoned piazza; West-coast kayacking; bouldering adventures; BWCA seclusion; treking Nigerian Sahara; Japan's tea gardens; German raves; through Northern India's cities, rural villages and squalor; cross-continent endeavours; backpacking expeditions; camping and gardening in my own backyard.
Almost 2 years ago, I was on a collaborative design project in rural India, working for a month and a half with traditional craftspeople in the dessert region of Kutch, when the 2 bottom sole parts of my Teva's seperated. My Teva's being the only shoes I'd taken on the trip, I was guided through the village market to the small, waist-high enclosure of a shoe shinner/repair man. Sitting cross-legged and using all hands and feet, the shoe repair man neatly pierced the 2 soles and - almost decoratively- stitched them back together. The whole operation took about 30 minutes and cost almost (the equivilent of) 50 cents. I'm quite proud of this man's handiwork - it adds well-earned charachter to my Tevas - who have experienced so much with me, and till then, had little to show for it.
During a return trip to India 1 year later, the shoe-repair-man's work was still holding strong. It was only this past weekend, during a normal walk through downtown Minneapolis that the stitches finally gave up. Not seeing a shoe-repairman sitting road-side in downtown Minneapolis, I stuck some duct-tape between the pieces and made it through the day.
So my question is: can I lend you my Tevas; so their souls can get re-attached?...or else I'll have to take another trip to the shoe-repair man in India to get another round of soul repair.
Thanks for providing such a long life-ed shoe.
-Arlene
Top 10 lessons learned
Tim Smith
September 18th
1. It does not defy the laws of physics for an unloaded lightweight canoe to be blown uphill across a gravel parking lot if the force of the sleet/snow squall hitting it overcomes the opposing surface friction and gravity combined.
2. Wading boots make eminent good sense for spring and fall canoe trips provided the canoe operator remains upright in his canoe while shoving off into a snow squall. Filling them with cold water partially defeats their purpose.
3. Just because it is horrifically cold and windy one day in the BWCA does not mean it can't be sunny and warm in the next day or two.
4. As a corollary to #3, an hour to cross a lake on a bad day may only be 20 minutes on a good day.
5. Dogs can be good companions, provided they don't puke in your tent.
6. Simplifying your trip planning by feeding your dog "people food" instead of dog food is unwise and can result in #4 above ...
7. Just because you thought you were a smart campfire chef to serendipitously add teriyaki sauce to potato/onion bake sucessfully doesn't mean it's a good idea share it with your dog ...(see #5 and #6 above).
8. If your dog is endlessly licking its chops and smacking its lips at night in your tent after a meal, immediately hit the eject button ....
9. Certain breeds of dogs can entertain themselves endlessly by chasing and cornering mice and chipmunks, but it takes a cat to kill ....
10. Bringing a fork and spoon on a canoe trip is a good idea unless you are good at making and using your own campground chop"sticks."
Cheers, Tim
