I’ve seen grown men get misty-eyed. I’ve heard them pause… and clear their throats while telling me about their first pair of cowboy boots.

Everybody remembers their first pair.

I met a longtime Hollywood stuntman, a man who makes his living gettin’ shot off of horses. He told me about his first pair of boots…

“I can still picture the cardboard box they came in. Man, I loved those boots… they were yellow with pointed toes and short tops. I slept with them under my pillow, because I didn’t want anyone to steal ’em.”

Kids love cowboy boots…and Tenderfoot makes great little boots. They build ’em just “like they used to” (…to be honest, much better than that.)

You need sturdy footwear for big adventure.

Tenderfoot boots are made of calf-skin. Leather tops, leather linings, piping, trim and strong stitched leather pulls. They’ve got genuine leather soles, a traditional rolled shank, wooden pegs and stacked leather heels. Just like grown-up boots.

These are the kind of boots, that keep looking better with age and will stretch ‘n’ give a little until that fateful day when your little cowpoke truly outgrows ’em.

And unlike most vinyl and plastic versions you see on the shelves, these boots can be resoled and worn by siblings. These are the boots that turn into family treasures.

(The little worn-out red boots are author Tyler Beard’s first pair. Maker unknown.)

Tenderfoot’s “boy boots” come in strong superhero-type colors, bold blues and reds. Tenderfoot made a good choice in remaking the classic bluebird-o-happiness pattern —this time with the bird soaring up, not down. Yippee!!

Heather Upjohn, Designer/Owner of Tenderfoot, tells me that a girl’s pair of pink boots is among her bestsellers… a filigree design with silhouetted leaves and flowers in the tops. The vamps have inlay too, held in place with two rows of stitching (…one row more than any child’s boot I’ve ever seen.)

Visit www.tenderfootboots.com to see current styles, and to find your nearest retailer.

Some might call this artistic expression…others will recognize it as the best way to get even after an ugly divorce.

Here’s “how to” turn a perfectly good cowboy boot into…

• a lamp
• a set of bookends
• a purse
• a planter (ouch!)
• a birdhouse…and more!!

Any other ideas? Comments?

Alright, I admit it. I’m a “boot geek”…and as such, I have a “favorite shoe historian.”

His name is Cameron Kippen…and I just found his blog, “foot talk,” which is a “collection of short anecdotes and funny stories about feet and shoes.”

Don’t miss out.