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Response to "Ode to My Sturdy Rubber Boots":

Dear NPR: As a resident of south Louisiana, I can only begin to empathize with the author of "Ode to My Sturdy Rubber Boots". Sitting in traffic with my windows rolled down, enjoying the 75 degree weather, my heart goes out to all fellow listeners who are stuck in "mud season". I was truly tickled and laughed out loud at his abundance of (over)appreciation and feelings of empowerment devined from such a commonplace article of outerwear. Perhaps in August I too will write such an ode, esteeming all of the overlooked virtues of what we (over)appreciate down here-- the air conditioning...

Please ask Bill Harley exactly which brand and style of rubber boots he owns. (3/26/08)I desperately need those boots, living in New England myself. There is no substitute for dry and warm feet.

Woe to Oedipus, MacBeth, Eliot Spitzer and Bill Harley: the great would-be-gods brought to doom by their mortal flaws! Yes, I too, have known the joys of Nirvana-like ecstasy endowed by girding myself in the seemingly omnipotent protection of a pair of rubber boots. Yes, they have served me much better than my computer, cell phone and high-definition television. But beware, Mr. Harley, the day will come when you, too, will be brought to earth by that lurking flaw: that hole that will surely soak your foot with the icy cruelness of reality. And in your mind will arise that damnable message screen: FATAL BOOT ERROR!