It used to drive me crazy, what with the constant slapping sound everywhere you went combined with the lazy shuffle that seems to go with it. And it's not just the college girls going on White House visits, either. Men, women, old, young, at home, in the office or at a fancy restaurant, flip-flops are everywhere. Longtime Austinites wear their chanclas like a badge of honor, and will even wear them when it frickin' freezing, Mr. Bigglesworth.
I personally never liked flip-flops because my memories of them go back to the 70s, when they were made of rubber and would gouge the skin between your big toe and whatever the toe next to it is called, while driving those damn knobs into both your immortal soul and the soles of your feet at the same time. But now, after six (seven?) years of living in Austin, I've given in.
I tell myself that my new sandals are more like my beloved huaraches, but no matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney. And that's OK. Like Picard and the Borg, I get absorbed further into the Austin lifestyle every day, and it is futile to resist. My flip-flops are comfortable, and my toes are enjoying their newfound freedom.
I've been fa-lap fa-lap fa-lapping around the office all morning, no doubt sending a duck-footed call recognized and answered by fellow Austinites everywhere.
