This Labor Day weekend was an opportunity to quiet the barefooting naysayers -- or at least turn down the volume a little bit. I twice went barefoot to our city's street festival, a large event with numerous vendors, craft tents, performance stages and a full carnival. This thing, at it's peak, can have tens of thousands of people crowding the city square.And I went barefoot the whole time.
I let my friends know that I'd be there with bells on, but without shoes. I heard some interesting replies:
"(That) is one place I would not be barefoot - you don't know what you're gonna find out there ;)"
"While I 100% agree with the whole barefoot thing...doing so downtown...I don't think that would ever happen..."
And from a friend who's a doctor:
"If anyone goes barefoot at (the festival) this weekend, my office is back open on tuesday am! Tetanus booster recommended every 10 yrs."
So how did everything turn out? Just fine. None of the thousands of people stepped on my toes. There were no pricks, no cuts, no pokes or slices. About the worst thing that happened was that my son stepped on my feet a couple of times when he wasn't paying attention. No big deal.
So I can attest that a street festival is even fair game for barefooting. You will build a little bit more confidence and your feet will thank you.
Great Post Michael. I'm very glad you had the chance to enjoy the festivities in your bare feet. I always have similar experiences while barefooting at festivals here in town: never step on anything harmful and people never step on my toes :)
ReplyDeleteGreat photo by the way!
Cheers from Toronto,
Moe
Man, today's generation of young people have become so afraid of everything, and no one seems to know anything about the relatively recent past - like the 60s and 70s. You could not go to any public gathering then on a nice summer day without seeing people walking around barefoot. (Though this was more popular for young women then for men.) And street fairs, there would always be lots of barefoot girls around, walking around all day, and into the stores. Even well into the 1980s every street fair had at least a few...what happened??? They are afraid that someone will step on their toes? Huh? Then why are they all wearing flip flops? Boy, that 1/4" wide strap must really be protecting them! And if even ONE person says to you "well on the beach yes, but on the street, no", ask them if they think that seagulls poop in the toilet. Ask them if they know what beach sand is. (It's just a type of light colored soil, with a much higher content of silica than most, and made up of tiny grains of crushed rock of varying kinds, plust crushed sea shells. And some organic matter. Plants do grow in it, after all.) And you bet, there are PLENTY of microbes in that sand, and water, probably more than on the city street that gets hit with sunlight each day. But on the beach, people touch the sand with their hands, lie in it, bury themselves in it. And the world does not end....
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