The Freedom To Wear What You Want

As I visit places, sometimes I’m asked where I got my boots. Sometimes a casual passerby will say, “Nice boots.” They don’t expect a reply. I’ve had dental surgeons and chiropractors tell me they used to wear them. A few of the guys at the office tell me they are interested in getting some too.

For me, it all started with Roy Rogers. He came to town many years ago to open one of his restaurants. It was on the north side of Dundas - just down a spell, west of Dixie. He and Dale Evans adopted some kids and supported a lot of charities and were truly wonderful people. He was called “King of the Cowboys” and was the best rider in the movies on his golden palomino, Trigger. I got to shake his hand and he gave me an autographed picture.

I didn’t actually want to dress like Roy. His outfits were a little too over the top for me, but as I got older and saw more contemporary actors such as Montgomery Clift in The Misfits and Robert Redford in The Electric Horseman, I realized I had a compulsive western inclination.

I have never owned any Charlie Pride records or Patsy Cline, although I did like The Flying Burrito Brothers. They were a mixed up bunch of talented guys trying to play a rebellious kind of country, but they sure didn’t live up to Roy Rogers’ extraordinary wholesomeness.

I also really loved horses, but could never afford one. I used to know where all the best saddle shops were and often visited them on weekends looking for fancy buckles. Today, I just know one: Trdak’s Western Wilderness & Workwear Outfitters in Cooksville. You can still find great shirts and boots there. They’re on the north side of Dundas - just down a spell, west of Hurontario (right next to the bus stop at 5 & 10). They have lots of other great stuff, too, but I’m not so much into the peripherals now.

All kinds of people from miles around go to Trdak’s, because it’s the only place that stocks such specialized apparel. It’s like stepping through a time portal when you walk through that front door. I also really like visiting Joe. He has the best stories!

Western, however, is not just about the clothes. It’s about honesty, integrity and traditional, hard-working characters like Llewelyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin) in No Country For Old Men, a film which won best Oscars for picture, direction and script for the Coen brothers. The film celebrates ethics and virtue, even if at times it does cross over to the dark side to illustrate those values. Roy Rogers once said you need the valleys of sadness to appreciate the sunshine on the mountain top.

I wanted to look like one of those western heroes while I was studying at College and University. I may have looked like Llewelyn Moss, but I was studying Restoration Poetry, 18th Century novels and Classical Rhetorical Structure. I don’t remember seeing any other undergrad students wearing pointed boots or western shirts. That’s OK. We have the freedom to wear whatever we want here. My favourite music is by Stravinsky and Miles Davis. My favourite authors are William Gaddis and Malcolm Lowry. My favourite painters are William Holman Hunt and Jan Van Eyck. I just happen to like wearing cowboy boots. They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever worn. It just goes to show, clothes don’t really indicate much about who the person is. It all comes down to what you stand for - not what you stand on.