2/23/2010

Shoemaker of Thunder

Submitted by Sarah:

When Jeffrey first messaged me online, his profile seemed similar in almost every way to every other guy's profile with one exception: he made his own shoes. My grandfather was a shoemaker and I had always associated shoemaking with a happy childhood. So it was on this unlikely topic that started Jeff and I talking.

He sent me pictures of the shoes he had made, all of which were really impressive for one guy working out of his garage. We talked about other things, but we always seemed to make it back to the topic of shoes, sneakers, and loafers.

I asked him why he hadn't applied to work for Nike, Reebok, New Balance, etc. He said that he was hoping to sue them for stealing his designs, just as soon as he sold enough of his shoes to afford an attorney.

A little weird. We went out anyway. On the date, I couldn't help but notice that he was wearing Asics. I asked him why he didn't wear shoes he had made, and he mumbled something about not wanting to talk about it.

Then he asked me if I was interested in storm chasing, and that there was a big thunderstorm coming into town that night. I asked him if he was sure, as the weather reports I had read forecasted a clear night.

"They know nothing!" he said, "Come chase storms with me!"

I asked him what that entailed. He said, "First, we find a storm. Next, we chase it."

I asked him, "What do we do once we've caught it?"

He gave me a funny look, then asked me if I wanted to come along. We were in the middle of dinner, and something didn't sound right about the whole thing, so I declined. He slammed two twenties on the table and said, "Off I go!" and took off! Right in the middle of dinner.

I didn't hear from him after that night, and call me crazy (as I know some of you will, regardless), but I sometimes wonder what he meant by "storm chasing."

11 comments:

  1. He sounds fun. You sound like a square. I would have bailed on you too.

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  2. You went on a date with one of Johnny Depp's characters.

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  3. Wow, that was a nothing story. He bailed because you were a stiff corpse, your lucky he paid

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  4. How inconsiderate of you. Obviously he wanted to chase the storm because it had stolen all his homemade shoes, and he was trying to protect you by not telling you about it in advance.

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  5. yeah, any guy that gets angry because you don't want to do what he wants is not a good guy... They are either controlling, or had something else in mind...

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  6. I could be wrong, and call this a nutty theory but I think - what he meant by "storm chasing" was actually "skinning you and wearing you as a coat around town".

    That's not remotely true at all. I really think "storm chasing" meant "storm chasing". Have you never heard the phrase or something? It's not code for gang rape or anything.

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  7. Give her a break. He was definitely a bit weird and I'm assuming the situation amplified that..

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  8. 1:37, really? Last time I agreed to go storm chasing with someone, I got gang raped. Loved it!

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  9. Seriously? Storm Chasing is a great hobby, when you hear the "weather WARNINGS" like tornadoes and stuff, it is because a storm chaser has actually laid eyes on the thing and called it in.

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  10. 11:24 is so lame I bet he is actually a STORM CHASER!

    did you see those shoes out at the STORM by chance?

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  11. 11:24 is a girl, and I bang stormchasers.

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