I Saw a Man Today Wearing a Skirt and Rollerblades

I saw a man today wearing a skirt and Rollerblades. He whizzed past me, nearly touching me and it all happened so fast, I wasn't sure of what I had actually seen. I turned around just in time to see him weave in between a group of students, the muscles in his bare pasty legs bulging from the swift movement. As I continued walking to my class, I giggled softly and then smiled wide as I looked up into the beautiful cloudless blue sky.

I love the differences.

Sorority girls with their lovely legs in tights and high-high heels, maneuvering through the snow and the mud caked walkways on their journey to class, void of backpacks they carry designer handbags instead, bags that could simultaneously fit several books, a purse, lunch, extra panties, a bowling ball, gum and a pen.

There are the UGG generation group of girls, light brown, dark brown, black, and the occasional color mixed in, pink, purple, aqua, maybe even a brave white. The Ugg's are paired with a skinny jean or a lazy sweat - sporting good ole' University of Idaho. The Ugg boot is slowly morphing into the tall faux leather riding boot - THANK GOODNESS!

Walking along this green campus, unusually warm and devoid of much snow for this time of year, there is a lot to see. Few and far between are new young lovers, nose to nose, forehead to forehead with no one else in the world but them, their eyes locked they can't stand to say goodbye for the brief fifty minute Biology class that she must attend. If you are lucky enough to see this, don't look away - instead, watch the lingering kiss that happens, that moment that says it all.

We might see cowboys - TRUE cowboys with plain black or blue backpacks, faded blue wranglers and brown cowboy boots (maybe even spurs!) with dirt and mud worn deep into the cracked leather. Their cowboy hats are not for show, they are a part of their DNA, perhaps one of the first items of clothing that they put on in the morning.

I love to watch the football players in their Idaho gear and wonder at how slow they walk around campus but how speedy they are on the field. They walk as if they have no where to go, bundled in their hats and black sweatshirts, their intricate tattoos and wonderful strength hidden underneath.

Most of us don't really fit into a category, we wear what feels comfortable, what works for us and what fits for the ever-changing Moscow weather - layering is what we know. We carry our backpacks, we wish for a snow day, we walk to class, walk home, walk to the gym, to the coffee shop. Do we really see what's around us?

We may see the 70 year old grandma who came back to finish her degree, or the growing population of non-traditional older students, back in school because of the drowning economy - they are confident yet a little uneasy in this new atmosphere. They have kids, had successful careers, lost jobs and are starting again - they walk with a purpose. Look around in between the old brick buildings and you may find things that make you smile, conversations overheard that make you laugh out loud and you will find all of this at little ole' Idaho.