I've been seeing kids in the area wearing Vans.  Are they back?  It's hard to tell around here, because the area is 10-15 years behind the rest of the country.  But they're catching up.  The goofy neighborhood boys look/dress/act like Eminem, so maybe they're only five years behind.

I wore Vans in high school.  It was traumatic.  A few of my friends wore them, so I bought a pair.  The bike/skate shop was out of black checkerboards, hence I opted for the not-so-subtle blue checkerboards.  We moved a week later.  In my new school, no one had even HEARD of Vans, especially not size 12 royal blue checkerboard Vans modeled by a 110lb. 6'5" sophomore.  Go ahead, think about those stats.  Lordy!  I dragged my feet around for six months and drove those silly shoes to an early grave.  Afterwards, Dad took pity on my trauma, and popped for some ultra hip (1985 Back to the Future era) $29 white Nike hi-tops.  Those Nikes didn't solve my other problems, but at least I quit dragging my feet around.

Eels - The other shoe.mp3