Who knew that the old worn out, duct taped Chuck Taylor’s and Jack Purcell’s we wore on the basketball courts of Cambridge would one day become high fashion footwear….

A company called Golden Goose is selling a posh version of our duct taped Converse Jack & Chuck’s street shoes for over $500.00… (see add below).

If I only knew then what I know now, I would have saved every pair of Chucks I ever owned and be a millionaire today. Of course I would have to find a way to neutralize their awful stench. High Karate, Canoe or Old Spice is no match a kids sneaker ode de toilette.

It kills me to think my mom was right once again… When I’d complain that my sneakers had holes in the soles …. caused by applying them as a brake for my bike’s front tire or from dragging across the basketball courts she’d say:

“That’s why God invented Duct Tape…Keeps the rain and snow out too“…

All kidding aside …. I know that distressed (AKA..faking being poor) fashion upsets people who see torn clothing and worn shoes as an unfortunate norm versus a luxury item ….. but the kids in my neighborhood never felt poor..even though we lived below the poverty line.

We never wanted much as a kids and so we felt like we had what we needed… I am grateful to the Central Square newspaper stand men Louie Weinberg and Si Rosenberg that gave us work as young kids selling newspapers like the Record American, Herald and the Globe …They helped us buy what our parents could not afford. Also Thank You ….to those who tipped the paper boys and girls…we appreciate your generosity.

I learned a few things as a kid selling the Sunday newspapers outside of the Blessed Sacrament and Saint Mary’s churches. I found that the most generous people ever are those that had the leased to give.. They just knew that it wasn’t about the money….. it was for them more about the sharing.

That’s why we were never was ashamed of being poor kids growing up in Cambridge.. We had everything we needed ….and worked for what we wanted.