I got word yesterday that a guy I consider a friend passed away unexpectedly. I have known Boots Reitzel aka TucsonBoots for ten years. I never met him in person, but emailed him regularly, and talked over the phone several times. I first heard of Boots early in my boot collecting "career" through the Internet. Boots, along with Jennifer June, was one of the pioneers of cowboy boot information on the Internet in the late 1990s. He had a website in where he discussed cowboy boots, and sold cowboy boots that he obtained through his travels. I agreed with most, if not all, of his "Boot Talk," especially when he discussed the poorer and poorer quality of factory boots, especially the "Big Three." He was one of the early proponents of buying good vintage (pre-Urban Cowboy) boots, or going the custom/handmade route. He was right on the money.
I bought several pair of boots from him, including two pairs of Paul Bond boots that I treasure. He always was a fair and square dealer, if you didn't like something, he did what was fair to make you happy. Most of the boots that he sold, I did not care for, mostly cause they were high heeled and underslung, extremely sharp toe, and not toe flowers/wrinkles.
I waited regularly for his updates, especially his "Boot Talk" updates. He had a lot of good things to say about the custom shops, nothing good to say about the sloppy work coming from the major factories.
He was a great American, and a conservative who believed in all the is good and unique about America, and not what is going on now.
I don't know what took Boots from us, other than it was natural causes. I knew that he had some recent health issues, but none that I knew of that were life threatening. He was found by a friend after Christmas. I just hope that he died in his sleep, dreaming about good cowboy boots, and the Western Lifestyle.
Good bye my friend. I'll miss you.
