On November 13th, 1996 Brett Lee Gourley became Elder Gourley (Gori Chorou) for the Nagoya Mission. The renowned quality of Doc Martins, for missionary use was well deserved at that time, so I picked up a pair of brown wing-tips at the downtown Salt Lake Nordstom's. I wore those shoes for most of my two years in Japan, rain or shine. I had a pair of black
rain covers for the rainy days (as seen in the missionary picture) and on the not so rainy days I let them be exposed. Each "P-day" (Wednesday for us) I would carefully polish my shoes to keep them at a nice shine.After my return to the states, my shoes continued in their great service. I wore them for any occasion that called for "Sunday best". They were also faithfully used during most of the days of my clerkship years in medical school and internship. The soles never completely wore out, although there were some cracks in the high stress points and the tread was long gone. The insoles also began to wear out so I tacked them down with a small nail
, which would at times work its way up and make a small hole in the heal my socks. I have since become well-versed in sock darning.This year, Bryn-Erinn had had enough of looking at my beloved shoes and made me replace them. This last Novemeber 13th marked the thirteenth year since I first dawned my trusty shoes. They have been there for me through a great part of my life.
