Connecting the Dots & Finding the Hidden Truths Behind Well-Known Stories

As I mentioned in my last post, I recently shattered my ankle, damaging a lot of the soft tissue in my lower leg and foot. I have had home health nurses and physical therapists visiting my home three times a week since then to help me get to the point where I am now walking with a very cool yet functional cane. 

My physical therapist and I were talking about the stories behind the stories in the Bible, such as how the reason that Jesus used dirt to make the blind man see was because the blind man was born without eyes and Christ was showing us that he was God by making human organs from the dust, like he did when he created Adam in the Garden of Eden on the sixth day. 

He, being unaware of many of these connections, yet fascinated by them, asked for books that would show him more. Thus I suggested the following six books for him: 

1. The Orthodox New Testament Volume One: The Holy Gospels (Evangelistarion)
2. The Orthodox New Testament Volume Two: Acts, Epistles, & Revelation (Praxapostolos)
3. The Orthodox Psalter: The Psalterion According to the Seventy, With the Nine Odes, & Patristic Commentary
4. The Lives of the Holy Prophets: The Major & Minor Prophets of the Old Testament
5. The Lives of the Holy Apostles: Saints Peter, Paul, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Jude, Simon, Matthias, Mark, Luke, & James
6. The Life of the Virgin Mary, The Theotokos

I also pointed to him to the following three blog articles I wrote on this blog:

1. The Gospel According to Saint John, Chapter Six: A Parallel of the Passover & the Exodus of Israel
2. The Theophanies of Christ in Both the Old & New Testaments
3. Types & Anti-Types in the Holy Bible

If you or anyone you know are interested in the connections of the Old Testament to the New Testament, or the stories behind the stories in The Holy Writ, check out these books and articles, which will help you see what previously was unseen to you. 

Have You Seen Them? The Quest for Wide Skate Shoes!

For those of you who don't know, I have wide feet. When getting back into skating, I found that Vans are now way too narrow (Yes, even the pro models - I confirmed with Vans that they intentionally have made all of their shoes narrower in order to save on materials, thus increasing profit). and I cannot wear them. I finally found that the vegan suede Vallelys by Cariuma stretched to fit my wide feet and stood up to a beating.

In May, I suffered a triple ankle fracture and dislocation and am finally walking after 6 months of recovery and healing with strenuous PT (physical therapy). However my left foot and ankle are now wider than before and I no longer can even get my Cariuma Vallely skate shoes on. Cariuma confirmed that the vegan suede Vallely shoes were their best shoes for wide feet and refunded the camel coloured pair I had on pre-order (I currently have charcoal and black Vallely shoes). So I reached out to the subreddit, r/OldSkaters, for suggestions for truly wide shoes. 

I got many suggestions and reached out to the skate shoe companies to ask what their widest shoes were. Nike SB, New Balance Numeric, and Adidas Skate Shoes were all out, as their shoes are narrow and have no wide options. Plus, I prefer to support skater-owned companies (like Death Skateboards, Film Trucks, Snot Wheels, Zealous Bearings, etc.) when I can.

• Shoe #1 was the Etnies Marana. I was excited by its fashion-forward looks, but unfortunately, I could not even put my foot in it, just like my Cariuma Vallelys. Immediate return. Etnies Footwear confirmed this was their widest shoe.

• Shoe #2 was the DC Court Graffiks. They looked nice, and thankfully, I could get my foot in, but the toe box was way too narrow. Sent them back. DC Shoes confirmed this was their widest shoe.

• Shoe #3 was the Osiris D3 2001s arrived and they were a chonky shoe that seemed to fit good with a wider toe-box but, while comfortable as-is, will definitely require some breaking in at the upper over the toes and at the achilles tendon area. Osiris Shoes confirmed this was their widest shoe.

• Shoe #4 was the Globe Mens Tilt Skate Shoe. I could get my foot in with some pushing, but then it slid in nicely. It felt really good... ...until my toes hit the toe-box. Immediately I felt compressing pressure on my pinky toe. Not only on my recovering broken ankle, but the good foot too. While these looked good, there was no way I would be able to wear them. Globe Shoes did not respond to my query on if this was their widest shoe or not.
  

And so the winner is...

...Based on my experience, for people with wide feet, your best choice is going to be the Osiris D3 2001 Skate Shoes, and I went with the Gold/Grey/Beige colorway model. If your toes are small, you might be able to get away with the Globe Tilt or the DC Court Graffik Skateboard Shoes, but the Etnies Marana is a definite no go, no way, no how. I hope this helps someone out there struggling to find good quality wide skate shoes like I was.

A Great Scout Backpack

In preparing my oldest son for transitioning from Webelos to Scouts BSA, I knew I would need to get him an internal frame backpack, especially since he currently wants to join a Troop that backpacks to their campsites. As such, I reached out to their Scoutmaster Emeritus, Kirk French, and asked about a backpack that had been highly recommended to me. Anyone who knows Kirk French knows that he is passionate about hiking and camping equipment and is known as an expert in this field. Below are his comments on the Teton Sports Scout 3400 Adjustable Internal Frame Backpack that is currently available at a great price at https://amzn.to/360bQS7. This would make a great backpack for any new Scout, so I wanted to share this knowledge with the public. There are links to options for older and larger Scouts and Scouters below: 

It's hard to beat that price ($79.99)! There are some comments on-line about the roughness of the fabric and the quality of the workmanship but it is also rated as a Best Bargain by the same reviewers. The 55L capacity is a good size for smaller scouts. However, if they grow a lot during their teenage years they may need to upgrade (to something in the $84.99 Explorer 65L, the $122.14 Ultralite Mountain Adventurer 65L, or the larger adult sized $99.99 Fox 75-85L size). You don't want to consider anything smaller than a 45L capacity (the $119.99 Ultralight Talus size). From the picture it also looks like the pack has loops on the outside to attach bulkier gear such as sleeping pads, sleeping bags, or tents. The ability to strap stuff to the outside of a pack is vital. This does mean that you need to invest in accessory straps but these are a low cost item. 

The big thing (and if buying online you cannot tell) is how it fits. All packs are adjustable to different heights and body types. There are also little cheats that can be done to accommodate pre-pubescent builds such as "grafting" on foam rubber to the waist belt to create artificial hips. But the only way to tell if it's a good pack is to put it on, adjust it to your frame, put some weight in it (about 1/3rd body weight) and walk around to see how it feels. If the return process is easy like I think this is (it is super simple with Amazon) it is a great starter pack. Most of the comparable ones for children/smaller framed adults start in the $160+ range. This wouldn't be my first choice for the Appalachian Trail but it seems more than fine for Scouting trips and treks. And again, the price is awesome. At that price point you free up funds for a better quality sleeping bag and/or tent which is were you really want to spend for quality.

Hope this helps. I am always willing (and borderline obsessive) to talk about gear.