Mostly whimsy and drivel of no consequence. And CHEESE.
Since, as of last week, I have achieved the ripe old age of the square root of 1,296 (yeah, yeah – very thinly veiled way to put it, but I get a kick out of the fact that anyone who is not a savant will have to either actually do math or get out a calculator to figure it out – so there), you’d think I might have achieved a new echelon of sagaciousness. But NO. I just forget names more often and am frequently at a loss for the most basic of words when trying to have a somewhat normal conversation. Wait – I suppose one must have an OLD echelon of sagaciousness in order to achieve a NEW echelon of sagaciousness. Damn. Aye – there’s the rub.
There has been a question bothering me in the last few days, and I evidently have not by sheer age reached the wisdom with which to untangle this mystery. Here’s the question:
WHAT ARE “BOOTSTRAPS,” ANYWAY???
The fact that I am ignorant as to what they ARE means that I shall only continue to have difficulty in any attempt to “pull myself up” by these mysterious items. It also begs the question: Do I even HAVE “Bootstraps?”
I am not so senile as to grasp that I could just Google the phrase or Blingo it (though I haven’t any Blingo friends so it makes me SAD to Blingo – *hint, HINT*). But I’d rather entertain the knowledge and wisdom of those about me. Tell me the truth, perjure yourself – I don’t really care in this instance as long as it’s entertaining. Again, the question du jour is:
WHAT ARE “BOOTSTRAPS,” ANYWAY???
*As far as I know…
Shirleen
February 16th, 2006 at 9:18 am
If you are looking for bootstraps, you may want to try the following link: http://www.aaronsbunkhouseboots.com/bootstraps03.htm
I suspect they’d sell you the boots too
me
February 16th, 2006 at 10:01 am
First, I would like to point out that Shirleen’s link leads to a place called “Aaron’s bunk house boots”. Bunk house? That’s GOT to be a brokeback sort of deal! See here for more details (I don’t care to do the html to make this link work, sorry): http://entertainment.tv.yahoo.com/entnews/eo/20060216/114011670000.html
Second, it was always my understanding that the “bootstraps” to which the proverb refers were the straps on the inside of a boot which one yanks to get one’s foot properly situated (depending on the boot and the foot, sometimes you gotta do some serious yanking!). Thus, the metaphor at once invokes the ruggedness of a cowboy (again, see above link), and the struggle to live situated as one would like.
No matter what, I think it’s clear that if you actually tried to “pull yourself up by your bootstraps,” you wouldn’t get far, as you would merely be uprooting your feet, and probably end up on your ass.
*sidenote- I actually downloaded the song (from the link above) from iTunes. It’s fun. I’m going to sing it around campfires and hope that there are cowboys in earshot who will get REALLY pissed.
Kate
February 16th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
I’m still confused. Where, precisely, ON one’s boots do you place your “Exotic Leather Boot Straps?” And can you really pull on them?
Aaaaah. I get the song thing. At first I was going to ask why a man who for quite a while expressed the desire to OWN cowboy boots (AND who owns a cowboy hat – unless that gift was CALLOUSLY DISCARDED ;-), would “hope that there are cowboys in earshot who will get REALLY pissed.” Then I saw what the song was. Very funny.
As for the bootstrap thing, I fall on my ass a great deal with no impetus whatsoever, so perhaps I should abandon the whole “bootstrap pulling” endeavor completely.
I still would LOVE to hear more theories about the whole matter.
Michael
February 16th, 2006 at 1:57 pm
36.
I only knew that because you were a year ahead of me in school. and why do I NOT have your birthdate on file? I’m a bad friend.
Boorstraps are like jock-straps, only for your feet.
Kate
February 17th, 2006 at 5:26 am
I don’t think I have your birthdate on file, either, and I am such a bad friend that I can forget birthdays I’ve known for twenty years. So there. 🙂 Anyway, you give me yours, I’ll give you mine. (File that under “sounds dirty but it isn’t.”)
As for the bootstraps, I am STILL confused, but only more delightfully so, because now I get to figure out how jock-straps for your feet would work.