So, the other day, I got this wild idea stuck in my head: LA Gear shoes. Not just any LA Gear, but specifically those ones from around 1990. Don’t ask me why. Maybe I saw some kid wearing something that kinda reminded me of ’em, or perhaps it was just one of those strange memory flashes you get when you’re, well, getting on a bit in years.
My first thought was, “This’ll be a walk in the park!” Famous last words, eh? I figured, with the internet and everything, grabbing a pair would be super easy. Man, was I off the mark on that one.
I started my hunt. Scoured all the usual online spots, you know, the big marketplaces, those sites for collectors, even poked around some old forums. And what did I turn up? Well, a whole lot of stuff, actually:
- Prices that were through the roof for anything even slightly in good condition. We’re talking, “Are these things dipped in gold or something?” kind of ridiculous prices.
- Shoes that looked like they’d been a dog’s chew toy and then left to rot in a damp basement for twenty years. “Vintage condition,” they’d say. Yeah, vintage disaster, more like.
- Sellers who seemed to know less about the actual shoes than I did, just trying to make a quick buck off the whole nostalgia trend.
It really got me thinking, you know? Back in 1990, these sneakers were absolutely everywhere. Seemed like every other kid either had a pair or was desperate for one. They weren’t some crazy expensive luxury item. They were just… cool. And now? Now they’re treated like some ancient artifacts from a forgotten time. It’s pretty wild how time just flips things on their head.
I must have spent, and I’m not kidding, weeks on this quest. It kinda became a bit of an obsession, if I’m being totally honest. My wife started giving me that look. You know the one. The “Are you seriously having a mid-life crisis over a pair of ancient sneakers?” kind of look. Maybe she had a point, who knows.
Eventually, I did manage to find a pair. Not pristine, not by a long shot. A few scuffs here and there, and the lights definitely wouldn’t work anymore (remember LA Lights? Wow, those were the days!), but they were the right model, from the right year. The fella selling them was surprisingly alright, an older chap just clearing out his attic. We actually had a pretty good chat about the 90s. That part was almost better than actually tracking down the shoes themselves.
So, I got them. And when the package finally arrived, I tore it open, and there they were. And you know what the big reveal was like? It was… well, it was okay. They weren’t magical. They didn’t whisk me back to my childhood. They were just old shoes. Really, really old shoes. It made me realize something pretty important, I think. Sometimes, the memory you have of something is way better than the actual thing. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the chase that’s the exciting bit, not so much grabbing the prize at the end.
This whole adventure, this silly hunt for a pair of shoes, it really hammered home how different everything is these days. We’re all chasing after something, aren’t we? Back then, for a lot of us, it was a pair of flashy sneakers. Now, for some people, it’s chasing likes on social media, or getting their hands on the newest gadget that’ll be old news in six months flat. It feels like it’s all the same merry-go-round, just with different rides.
I don’t even know if I’ll wear them. They’ll probably just end up on a shelf somewhere in the garage. A little reminder, I suppose. A reminder of 1990, of being a kid, and of how a simple thing like a pair of shoes can send you down a funny old rabbit hole. It was a good practice in patience, I’ll give it that. And a decent practice in not taking these little blasts from the past too seriously, even if they are LA Gear from 1990.
