It was the last day of school before letting out for the Thanksgiving holidays and the first really good frost of the season. Everyone had taken off their coats and hung them on the rack along the wall of the classroom, when Turner came in the door barefooted. Paul, also barefooted, was already seated in front of Turner’s desk.

We’ve all heard of walking to school barefooted, through snow, cold and all kind of conditions. Those who did it wear the experience as a badge of honor and are usually pleased to keep the badge polished. Twiggs County High in the 1950’s was a country school for sure, filled with a lot of farm boys and others with means far less than enjoyed by most students today; But, everyone wore shoes to school in those days. Turner and Paul were exceptions.

Going barefooted was fairly understandable in warm weather, but the temperature was in the upper 20’s now. It was a bit of a mystery for a long time. While there was not a lot of money around, most everyone could buy shoes. Well, maybe Paul’s life was a bit tougher than most. He was possibly waiting until cold weather before wearing shoes so his one pair would last for the entire year. But, Turner was the richest kid in the class? Affording shoes was without question. He ran a bicycle paper route and every morning before school and always had money in his pocket. Plus, his parents owned a successful sawmill in town. Turner’s father, Mr. Howard, grew up hard and went to school barefooted out of necessity, he said, but times were different in such ancient days. Surely he would give Turner enough money for school shoes if he needed them. Turner’s brother Charles always wore shoes to school. So far as we could tell, Turners parents never neglected nor abused him in any way. Turner and Paul were both smart fellows in school. They even made the honor roll on a regular basis. Paul, in particular, was really sharp in math. Anyone with that much sense surely had enough sense to put their shoes on when temperatures dropped below freezing. Plus, our school had concrete floors, and the heating system seldom worked well with temperatures below freezing. It was a mystery?

There was never any real conversation about this little mystery at the time, just a lot of individual wondering. Some quietly speculated that Turner probably just wanted to make our friend and classmate Paul, feel more comfortable and less self conscience of the possibility that he didn’t have enough money to buy shoes.

That little mystery remained a private secret between Turner and Paul for about 40 years. The class of 1960 has held class reunions at least every 5 years. During the most recent one, the big secret was revealed as we all overheard Turner and Paul laughing and reminiscing about the big standoff between them………. to see who would be the first to wear shoes after the weather turned cold. Wouldn’t you know it? It had nothing to do with being able to buy shoes. They were just competitive and both stubborn enough to hold out on each other until one gave in or the threat of frostbite drove his feet to shoes. There is nothing wrong with that!

The freedom to compete and spirited competition contributed to the building of a great America. A competitive spirit of people like Paul and Turner defends our shores, develops our resources, builds factories and businesses, forges strong leaders, and occasionally puzzles or amuses us. Sometimes it simply makes us laugh.

©2003 - William C. Humphries, Jr.