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Date Collected

Winter 11-30-2018

Place item was collected

Logan, Utah

Informant

Allison Johnson

Point of Discovery/Informant Bio

Allison Johnson, Allie, is my cousin. She is 15 years old, born in 2003, she is almost exactly two years younger than me. Currently living in Rigby Idaho with her parents, she is an avid runner and soccer player with a wide group of friends. She’s obsessed with the play Hamilton, even though she’s never actually seen it, and thinks Eddie Redmayne, the actor, is a sweet tasty boy. She loves the outdoors, identifying herself as “granola” I see her most often when we go on family camping trips and canyoneering excursions.

Context

I hate Chaco sandals, I think they are the ugliest shoe I’ve ever seen. There is a picture included for reference. They are an insult to fashion and everything that is good in this world. Their biggest offense is the strap that goes around the toe. It reminds me of a rubber band stretched over an entire baked ham. I hate seeing them, which isn’t helped by the fact, that Allie wears them all the time. Every time, I see her, I’m subjected to it. I face this atrocious choice in footwear with disdain, and I make sure that my hatred is well known. I’ve heard her talk about Chaco Fridays on countless of occasions, so I decided to have her give me an overview of the tradition over text, late one night. Fittingly we talked about it on a Friday, she was probably wearing her Chacos at that very moment.

Text

Dear Lex, So as you already know my awesome friends and I have Chaco Friday every Friday. This mainly is to send off granola vibes but also to set us apart from other teenagers so we ain't basic. The shoe itself is very comfortable which is a plus but it also makes us a community and draws people together if you do your research there is a thing called Chaco nation. Chacos are very popular in the outdoor and cross-country kid community. At cross country meets many people compliment my amazing chacos and I return the compliment for theirs are awesome to. It gives a sense of friendly competition. Meets are often on Friday. I didn't create Chaco Friday so I don't know if this was why it is on Friday or if it's because it's the end of the week and we just need to air out our feet, or maybe it is just catchy. Needless to say Chaco Friday is the best weekly national not yet but soon to be holiday there is. Love, Your Chaco loving cousin Allie.

P.S. Chaco Socko Friday in the winter is cool too.

["dear Lex" how very formal just to clarify, how would you define "granola vibes"]

It's what we call outdoory and free living people.

Texture

Allie loves talking about her Chacos. This was all over text so I wasn’t expecting her to write as much as she did, but I guess she couldn’t stop herself. It took her a while to send the first message when I asked her to send me one, at first I thought she was busy and decided to send it to me later. But after maybe ten minutes, I got her message. I guess she just wanted to plan her response carefully. I’ve heard her talk about Chaco Friday on countless occasions, but this time she did explain it in much more depth.

Course

ENGL 2210

Instructor

Dr. Lynne McNeal

Semester and year

Fall 2018

Theme

G1: Groups/Social Customs

EAD Number

3.1.11.35.8

Download

Additional Files

Chacos.docx (142 kB)

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