🫖 Hello lovely people! This is tsundoku, my monthly recommendation column for paid subscribers. This month, we have life advice, good Substack reads, and allll my tips about mosquito bites (both prevention and care). For the uninitiated, these segments tend to be more loose and raucous than my long-form essays. Enjoy a little treat below, or upgrade to paid to view the whole thing! 🫖
🐊 letting people do their thing // Crocs
My family’s history with the oft-mocked Crocs is long and circuitous. I still remember the first time we ever saw the shoe: it was in a store in Sun Valley, Idaho circa 2006. We all were amazed. We had never seen anything like them in our lives. So ugly they were cute. The PT Cruiser of footwear. I proudly wore several pairs (never with “jibbitz,” respectfully, those are stupid) for years until…. I entered my preteen era and they became the most embarrassing thing in the world. In the years that Crocs were the butt of every joke, I joined the Crocphobic bandwagon. But, my mom never gave a damn. She thought they were fun and provided excellent arch support ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ She trudged through the hard times, feet airily adorned with candy-colored rubber.
Her current Crocs collection is a force to be reckoned with, and each pair serves (more or less) its own purpose. Some are for gardening and taking the trash out, and can be left outside when you inevitably step in dog poop on the treacherous backyard path to the garbage cans. What could be more easily hosed down? There are the pairs that act like a house slippers, never spending a day in the outside soil. There are cute pairs that can be worn to the grocery store, etc. etc. What am I getting at, you might wonder? Well, now that I’m grown, I regard my mother’s collection as a whimsical (perhaps even beautiful?) thing. But, you best BELIEVE that I had years of embarrassment where I projected my own insecurity on her casual enjoyment of the shoe. But, you know what’s actually cool? Well, first of all, obviously my mom. But also: letting people do their thing.
Last but not least, thought you should know that one of the inventors of the shoe totally looks like a Croc. That is all!