High heels and pointy toes.....

Has it really been  fifty years since Beatle Mania descended upon our fair land?


Boy, do I remember that evening when we all gathered around our little black and white television, tuned it to the Ed Sullivan show, and watched intently as Mr. Sullivan introduced the latest singing sensations from England.


My older sister was not enthralled with the young Brits, as she still idolized Elvis Presley, however, the rest of us were quite curious to get a glimpse of these dashing young lads. My dad, whose musical tastes leaned toward Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb, was quick to state his opinion.


"They only know three chords and three lyrics, and repeat them over and over."  Then, he went back to reading his latest Mickey Spillane thriller, while I too, tried to figure out what all the fuss was about. Little did we know that it was the dawning of a new era known as the British Invasion.


Soon thereafter, youngsters in our town began to emulate everything "British"; the clothes, the hairstyles, and the Cockney accent.......with a Midwestern twang, of course.


Paul White owned the local shoe store, and my mother worked for him. I was a young teen who should have been at the forefront of the movement to embrace the Beatles as the greatest thing ever; I was still lukewarm to the idea.


One day my mom came home with a box under her arm and said, "Paul ordered a few pair of these "shoes" to see if they would sell. He sent a pair for you to wear to school to see what the kids think."


"Mom, those are just plain ugly! I was looking at a pair of half-boots, with pointed toes, high heels, and zippers up the side. "I will not wear those to school and be laughed at all day."


But, with a little persuasion, and because of my fondness of her boss, I relented. The next morning I pulled on the first pair of "Beatle Boots" to grace the halls of Roosevelt Junior High......


It was with much trepidation that I walked through the doors that day, but almost immediately I was engulfed by my friends.


"What are those? Are those the same boots that the Beatles wear? Did they come from England?


And, of course, Mr. White's favorite question of all, "Where can I get a pair?"


He was a marketing genius, and soon, everyone in our school was sporting half-boots with pointed toes and high heels......


The fad was relatively short-lived, and it wasn't long until most of us returned to more comfortable footwear. It wasn't the last time I played "guinea pig" for Paul, but it was definitely the most notable.


Perhaps it's time to recreate it for the fifty year anniversary. Now where are those boots......