Anthony is a student at USC and one of my closest friends. He grew up in New York and moved to Los Angeles this year to study at USC. He comes from an Italian background.
Performance: “So I walked home – I had just bought a fresh pair of Jordan’s at the mall with my friends. They were very fresh, like $130. I was in 9th grade at the time so that was a big deal for me… a big investment. So I got them at the mall with my friends and then I took them home to show my Mom. I said Mom, I just got these new Jordan’s, they’re really sick, and she was like “ok let me see them” and then I put them on the table and was like ok check these out and she goes “DON’T PUT, THE SHOES ON THE GODDAM TABLE!” and I was like what why what the hell what the hell is going on mom. And she goes “You can’t put shoes on the table, or you’ll never get married.” And I was like what the fuck are you saying and she was like “you’re never going to get married if you put shoes on the table that’s what my grandmother always told me, so I stand by it.” And there ya go.”
Nice, so do you still not do it?
“No I do it… cuz I don’t want to get married.”
Response: This was a very interesting story because we discussed the taboo of shoes on the table in my Forms of Folklore class, but this variation of it never came up. It was agreed that if you did put shoes on the table it was either bad luck or that you would die sooner, but marriage was never mentioned. I find this variation to be interesting and confirms that boots on the table has true multiplicity and variation.