No lie: Even though I’ve given 2 pairs of my precious Chippewas (Model # 27914) to fellow troubadors; 1 pair to Chris Berardo, and the other to Mickey Braun, I won’t give this last pair away. This pair of boots fits me like boots fit in songs, like they know me.

Our friend Clark at Chippewa calls this particular style of boot the “Mystiquero” boot & its true. This is the pair the Mystiqueros all have, and wear most often. They are heavy, durable (maybe indestructable), and they are a much cooler looking boot than I should be allowed to wear, because I am most definitely not cool. I elected to have these boots on the front cover of my new record, “Plenty,” not my face. The designer, who works in Fort Worth, Texas, must regard these among his finest creations. I hope so.

The Mystiquero boot is constructed in El Paso, Texas & Joplin, Missouri, and Chippewas a 100+ year old company from Wisconsin. That’s about as home-grown Americanas there is. Check out ChippewaBoots.com; there’s an insanely cool collection of high-quality, iconic footwear. We call it boot-porn.

Now, Chippewa has made a few new pair of our beloved Mystiquero Boot for us to try out in a lighter, sand color, with rough-out leather. They may be cooler than the originals - ’Hard to say. But I suspect I will wear my new pair of Mystiquero Boots for a long time, and with apologies to many of my fellow troubadors who will without a doubt cast longing eyes down at my new friends, I don’t think I will give these away either.
They’ll be available to everyone before long.

WW

What is it about Baseball? It threads us together. Our passions. Our childhood memories. Our children. We share it. We play it. We can mark our time here by the ups and downs of it. Once again, Baseball is a big part of our Northeast tour. Stopping in Cooperstown to play a house concert for our friend Brad Horn who is a big part of the Baseball Hall of Fame, we were treated to a private look at some of the behind the scenes artifacts at the Hall. I found my self giddy as I saw boxes on the shelf with “Gehrig” on them and undeniably moved at the site of a baseball recovered from the ground zero rubble of 9/11. It would take me a week to really see everything at the Hall of Fame and since it’s always growing, maybe I can just spread my week out over the next 5 years or so. It’s beautiful to see all the people. All the families that flock to Cooperstown in the sweet summer months to pray at the Church of Baseball. Cause it is a bit like Church isn’t it? We have rituals and reverence for it. Prophets and poets. Heros and villains. It restores our faith and gives us hope. I am moved overtime I visit this place and can;t wait to share it with my own son in years to come.

Baseball recovered from Ground Zero 9/11