Friday evening was, what I consider, my first really big "primetime" barefoot outing since earnestly starting this unshod gig a few months ago: The Kansas City Royals game. Sure, I'd been to various retailers where a few hundred people were shopping (and maybe a few dozen actually saw me barefoot). I'd been to parties at family and friends' houses, but a Major League Baseball game? This was HUGE. Like 35,000-plus-in-attendance huge.
I'll be honest: I had a few concerns about barefooting at the game. How many broken bottles would I have to avoid stepping on while walking in and out of the stadium? Would I even get past the gate unshod or be forced by security to wear my "emergency" flip flops that were in the diaper bag? Would my feet get stepped on while mingling through crowds of people over the course of the evening? And just how would my feet hold up being barefoot on concrete and asphalt for such a long period?
It turns out, barefooting at the ball game was great! The parking lot was pretty litter-free on the way in, security let me through with no problem and my toes never got stepped on (even in the crush of people to get out after the game).
My feet held up really well. I was surprised. I actually did walk around a lot because my kids and I went on an excursion to Kauffman Stadium's new "outfield experience," which has a number of family-friendly shops and attractions. After also visiting other family members with seats on the other side of the stadium, I ended up circling the entire place barefoot by the time we returned to our seats. That's 360 degrees around a baseball stadium. Barefoot. Oh, did I mention I had my 20-month old daughter on my shoulders most of that time? In the end, my feet were quite dirty, but the drizzling rain that came on our way out to the lot helped wash away most of the grime. I avoided all the tailgaters' trash and made it safely to the van.
On Saturday our nation celebrated Independence Day, and my feet expressed their independence by continuing to go bare. Our family attended the local fireworks display and then went over to my in-laws' where we shot off our own fireworks. In the end, the feet held up great!
Sunday was another barefoot visit to church, then in the afternoon my wife threw me a belated surprise birthday party at a local park. Still unshod, I enjoyed seeing good friends and playing with the kids in the park's water "sprayground." It was only during these activities that my feet started to complain to me. More specifically, the ball of my left foot directly below my big toe hurt some. It was the skin itself that was painful, not the muscles. I would later discover that the skin on both feet were slightly abraised. No problem, though. After soaking them at home later and resting them overnight, they've felt good today. I chalk it up to the necessary work of toughening up my soles.
In the end, I was barefoot this weekend from about 9:30 a.m. Friday through 7:45 a.m. Monday. That's a little more than 70 hours of completely bare feet and I loved it! My feet got to breathe and enjoy the ground below me and it helped me to enjoy a great weekend with great people.
Excellent Michael! I'm glad you were able to enjoy your experience at the stadium totally barefoot, as well as the rest of the weekend!
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