When I was a youngin, I grew up in Saudi Arabia with my family. My father worked as an engineer for the oil company there. All in all, I lived there for ten years, but had to leave in 1999 when my father retired. One of my favorite mementos I took with me was my pair of locally-made leather sandals. I wore them everywhere, so much that after a decade they finally disintegrated. They were well-made and lasted a long time, but couldn’t last forever. Thankfully, my friend Cody moved back to Saudi as an adult and now lives and works there (Cody collaborates on a lot of the music on this site). Just today, my longtime wish finally came true. I received these in the mail from him.
Leather sandals from Saudi Arabia
Thank you, Cody! I haven’t even worn them yet. I had to post this blog because I was so excited. They remind me of something that happened back when I was at boarding school in America, and my parents were still in Saudi. I used to get a lot of strange looks from people who had never seen such footwear before. One of the people that commented on them was Gladys, the lunch lady in the cafeteria. Gladys was a rather large African American woman with a stern face, and a lot of people didn’t like her because of how strict she was. I guess you could compare her to the “Soup Nazi” in Seinfeld. Well, she commented on my sandals a few times while I was in line for food, and this gave me an idea. The next time I went back to Saudi to visit my parents, I bought her a pair. As soon as I returned to school, I presented them to her. I will never forget the smile that lit up her face. I think it was the first time I ever saw her smile. Assuming she didn’t wear them every single day like I did, maybe she still has them, and they are in one piece. Hope you’re doing well these days, Gladys!
Edit: Just tried them on. Soooooo comfortable. And they will only get more comfortable. That’s the best part about them. They conform to the shape of your feet over time.
interopia 