Re: Dangling sneakers
From: Dallas

After having just read your article on the dangling sneakers phenomenon, I have a possible explanation. It might be related in some way to something I've seen in the Army for the last 14 years.

Whenever a person leaves his base or unit of assignment for another posting, he or she will sometimes take an old pair of combat boots, spray them some bright color, and leave them high in a tree or dangling over some power lines — anywhere that is difficult to reach. The intended message is something like, "Screw all you guys, I'm outta here!" — maybe that's why shoes are sometimes more prolifically tossed when kids are out of school. It's something that has sort of lost its popularity in recent years, but still happens nonetheless.