Anyway, I have been busy lately with the hustle of the startup of the academic year. As usual I spend my time always barefoot. I was on the first day confronted by a janitor who told me I forgot my shoes, playfully of course, when I told him I didn't wear shoes he seemed a little shocked. I wonder why. When going into one of the buildings a kid walking behind me said dude you forgot your shoes, to which I responded, "No, I don't wear shoes."
The only really unpleasant encounter was with some short elderly professor entering the same building. Well, I was entering, she was exiting. She looked down at me and said "Do you know you don't have shoes on?" I responded with a somewhat annoyed "Yes, I don't wear shoes" She said "You cant go into a building without shoes." I of course told her "Yes I can, JWU makes no policy against it, look in the book." guess what comes next? "It's a Health Code!" I have such a hard time holding my cool when people say this to me. "THATS NOT TRUE! LOOK IT UP!" I shouted. She in disbelief shouted back "Yes it is." I at this point had been walking in and she out, so I replied with a "YOURE WRONG, LOOK IT UP!" and walked away.
People like this really get to me. It is not her fault for being clueless. It really isn't. Most people think it is a Health Code. But every day I inform at least one person that it isn't, and that one at a time spread will hopefully achieve the slogan that adorns some of my cards: "BRING DOWN THE MYTH!"
Yesterday when spending time with my disabled Vietnam veteran friend, he asked me to get him an iced coffee at Duncan Donuts, I of course obliged. When I walked into the very narrow establishment, I passed several people staring in disgust/astonishment. I got to the counter, ordered what I needed to order as a very loud woman comes out of the back out of uniform (Off for the day I assume) and stands behind me for a few seconds, and yells "No shirt, No shoes, NO SERVICE!" I told her you have no sign on the door, she replied with a "NO!" which really didn't make much sense...? The woman behind the counter said "Oh you have no shoes on?" "To which I responded "Yeah, I never wear shoes, for my back." At that point another woman from behind the counter turned around and said "Are you that boy from last year with the skateboard?" I knew that I was the person she was referring to, I informed her that it was me last year, and she said to the louder woman "Yeah he never wears shoes even in the winter." the loud woman asked me the typical am I afraid of foot fungus, or athletes foot, I asked her if she knew how fungus worked. I explained how shoes form an incubator, and she cut me off halfway through saying she only made it to 11th grade. I didn't understand what she said the first time, I started explaining some simple physics, and she said "I DONT KNOW, I only made it to the 11th grade!" The woman behind the counter asked how I didn't get cold. I told her we are designed to walk barefoot, at that point one of the people behind the counter said "Well I'm designed to walk in these *click click click* high heels." I responded "No you're not, do you have any idea how much damage those cause your feet? She said "Yeah yeah I know." I paid for the coffee, walked out, and that has been my year so far in the barefoot related category.
Oh! one more thing, I found very interesting. My roommate, both are Chinese, one them asked me "Why don't you use shoes." and from then on said "You don't use shoes" or "He doesn't use shoes." I found this very interesting that she always said "use shoes" not "wear shoes." Almost as if the shoes were something like a drug. What do you shoe users out there think? Drug? Shoes do share a lot of the characteristics as well as tendencies to cause addiction/dependence.
Food for thought.
Barefooting is easy
Barefooting is good for you
Barefooting is NOT illegal
Join the revolution
GO BAREFOOT
Please comment!
Like what you see?
Tweet it!
Tweet
