I burned down the shootry of Mitchell, Oregon.

And I'm not sorry, I did it either.

But those of you not in the know, tying the laces of pairs shoes together and thrusting

them into the branches of a shootry is a strange oragony and ritual.

It's rumored to have started with members of the military who would celebrate the end

of their training by decorating a nearby tree with their used shoes.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

I don't think most people here understand why, but it's something we do.

There are several famous shootries in the state.

Juntura, Athalpha, Ben, let's go on.

Nowadays most shoe throwers do so to commemorate special events or to remember the death of

a loved one.

You ready to go to high school?

Throw your shoes, getting married.

Toss them up there.

Want to honor a lost family member?

Throw those shoes.

Moving?

Yeah, you know what to do.

Getting back on this now, I can't help but wonder how many of these people were unable

to do whatever led them to visit a shootry in the first place.

I'm left to wonder just how many lives have been lost these seemingly harmless traditions.

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