Negatives

The shoe tree is not very broad, so there are only two negatives I can think of. One is the trouble people might run into finding the location because it is in the middle of no where. The second is that while the shoe tree is cool, there is not really a point to throwing your shoes up in a tree.

6/17/11

I have one source with a theory of how the tree began this may lay the background for my narrative. Another might be the role the tree plays in the small town. I might also look for the national news coverage the tree recieved in the nineties. I have had trouble finding sources so far.

"Black Men in Public Spaces"

On page 260 line 5 he uses the quote, "were tougher than we were more ruthless" from an essay. He doesn't use the full quote to integrate he just uses a piece of it to fit into his story and explain how other races viewed black males. He introduces it and the other quotes by saying, "Black men have a firm place in New York mugging literature." He does not reflect on any of the quotes or spend a long time summarizing the pieces. For this story, he just needed a few examples from other writers to heighten the point he was trying to get accross. These quotes show the reader from another perspective that people did fear black men in New York. He was not just imagining things. The "Art of Quoting" would suggest that he needs more of an introduction and a specific reflection on each particular quote. While the quotes are just thrown into the middle of his narrative seemingly out of the blue, I think that his whole story is the reflection of these quotes.

Research Post

The main things I would like to research are the significance of shoe trees in general and also how this shoe tree in particular got started. There may not be a concrete story of how it was started but I figure the different theores would be just as interesting.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1N1-1084EDDD443D36CD.html
This is the link to an article about it, but I had to start a free trial to see the whole document. So, I will bring a paper copy to class as well.

Milltown Shoe Tree

Milltown Shoe Tree

            I know the shoe tree from my high school years, visiting it frequently. My friends and I would ride four wheelers, through the country to simply sit under this tree and talk. I visited the shoe tree twice recently, each time with a slightly different perspective. The first time, I went the way I know, on a four wheeler through back, country roads, many unpaved. This brought on nostalgia of the many memories and friends that I have lost touch with. The second time, I went the “tourist” route. This route is no less through the country, except it was by car and all the roads happened to be paved. Even after all the times I have been there before either way taken, the shoe tree still comes as a surprise.

            Most shoe trees are visualized as a medium sized bushy tree in the middle of a field. This tree is on the corner of a four way, on the edge of the woods.  Anyway one may take, the drive is through the woods the majority of the way. There are only a few houses to observe along the way, but the woods bring scenery to the long journey. The canopy shades the road offering flashes of light where the sun has broken through. These woods hide the shoe tree until the very last moment when this camouflaged, giant, oak tree ascends into view, towering over its subjects. It is unclear, at first, what the multicolored masses are that have engulfed the bottom half of the tree. But, within a second, the shapes become clear. They are shoes. There are hundreds of shoes.

 There is a gravel plot off the road beside the tree, only large enough to fit one vehicle. The first object in sight after exiting the car is a fifteen foot tall tree trunk charred with black. The burns resemble scars slicing the trunk. The black has a fragile texture and a small part crumbles to the touch. This tree has one extruding branch left that contains the surviving adornments of whatever event that caused it. There are two main clusters of shoes left on this tree. This tree belonged to the previous generation, and someone or something took it away. It essentially has scars to show now, with only a few shoes.

 

As the eyes circle the four way, tree becomes an understatement. The shoes have spread to many of the trees surrounding the four way.  The eyes of course stop in awe at the main tree. There are no cars, no sounds besides those of birds. There are just shoes. The shoes cover the reachable portion of the tree. The branches sag with the heavy load of holding the many, many shoes. The ones that have been there a while seem to have become a part of the tree. Vines have grown up the tree, clinging to the shoes. They maintain the essence of the tree alive, so the shoes can be in attendance for more generations to witness.

The shoes themselves have no pattern or theme. There are tennis shoes, flip-flops, work boots, fashion boots, heels, and so many others. The sizes vary from baby shoes to adult shoes. This tree is for everyone to put a piece of their history into a tree for many to view. A few specific shoes catch the eye. There is a pair of shiny, black leather go-go boots that will raise a smirk or two. These boots show their age as the top and bottom of one boot has begun to separate. There are quite a few work boots. One black pair with purple lining stands out the most.

The grounds below the trees possess the shoe graveyard. It is survival of the fittest. The shoes put up there the greatest, and survive the storms long enough for the vines to support them become history. The others fall to their misery to rot away in the weeds. At the edge of the woods, behind this graveyard, lies a large horizontal branch respectfully spray painted with Foo hearts Sara.

 

One is filled with curiosity. With this tree, so many questions arise. Who are Foo and Sara? What made the tree catch fire? But more importantly, questions about the shoes come to mind. How did that person get their shoes so high in the tree? Where have these shoes been? Who was the person who wore these shoes? Why did that person choose to put these shoes in this tree? One may find himself or herself wishing the shoes could tell their stories. They could share much wisdom. They are like the elderly, full of knowledge just waiting for someone to listen. Yet time goes by, and the shoes cannot talk. They will hang there for many years, keeping history to themselves.

The Stone Horse

The part I was most drawn to was his description of how as the day went on the light changed and as he moved around the horse, he noticed different things and saw the horse in different ways. This would fall under the category of linking it to your senses. In this case, the specific sense would be sight. It falls under this category because it is obvious he is talking about how he sees it and how a change in sight specifically can show different things. It is interesting how just the light and angle can change and the horse becomes something different. I gathered this from the statement on page 502, "As I changed positions and as the angle of light continued to change I noticed a number of things." This is an example that if something is looked at from many different perspectives, more can be learned about it.

Coming out of the cave response

At the beginning of Highschool I cheered for my high school team. We were not good, it was just a small highschool cheerleading team. Halfway through my sophomore year, I came to Louisville to cheer for Gymtyme which is an elite team with many national and world titles. I still cheered on my high school team and tried to bring my new talents and knowledge back to them. They would not allow this though. My coach kept me down. She did not want it to look like I was that much better than everyone else.  She scheduled practices on the same days as my gymtyme practices. The other cheerleaders considered me an outsider. I eventually quit my high school team. I think they reacted as they did for fear of the society realizing how bad they actually were. My town is and hour away from Louisville and out in the country. No one knew or cared to know anything about cheerleading. If I was different than everyone else, then the people watching would realize.
I have memories of the place I chose, and learning about this will inform me of what it means to other people and what memories other people and other generations have about this place. I can see what this place means to other people in my town and how this relates to me.