Ever go barefooted?

A couple weeks ago, Marge fixed a birthday meal for our youngest son -- biscuits and gravy and scrambled eggs. Probably our family's favorite meal. Our birthday son came wearing a pair of house slippers, which he immediately took off once in the house. So he ate barefooted! I didn't mind nor did anyone else. It was his birthday celebration. Made me wonder how many people go barefooted and where?

Dad was an avid gardener for several reasons: He loved to garden, a good garden saved a ton of money, and home-grown garden produce just tastes better. One of my older sister's memories is of gardening and planting potatoes in the spring. Dad would put the plow on the International C tractor, which he would use to plow the potato patch. He'd plow so many passes, then we'd stick potato sets every step or so down 4 inches or so from the top of the plowed ground. Then Dad would plow a few more passes or furrows, and then we'd plant another row of seed potatoes. My sister said she loved to plant potatoes barefooted. She said the clean cool soil felt so good on her bare feet.

I planted potatoes just like this, only I never went barefooted. Can't stress how emphatic the never is. Never! When I was little, I wore canvas tennis shoes, and they were usually black with white shoestrings. I would imagine by spring the shoes worn to school all winter were worn out, so Mom would have been lax on us keeping them clean. Still remember those canvas tennis shoes. New ones felt so light and good, it felt like you could jump over the moon and outrun a racehorse. But I didn't go barefooted.

I can't remember Mom or Dad and Mick going barefooted as well. There were so many sandburs growing up, you wore shoes everywhere. Fresh plowed soil would have been free from sandburs, so that's why my sister went barefooted while planting potatoes. I would imagine my older younger sister went barefooted as well but don't know for sure.

I used to enjoy going barefooted in the house. Do a day's work and come home and kick off the boots and relax. Most of my life, I wore cowboy boots. It just felt good to go barefooted. But when I got Type 2 diabetes, I realized I needed to wear slippers or shoes while in the house.

That changed when we bought a pair of crocs. Our boys really liked them and wore them most all summer. I thought why not give it a try, so I think the pair I liked and bought was about $60. Made me think twice about spending that much on a pair of plastic shoes that I may not like. Not only liked them but loved them. Well worth the money. Can't wait to take my diabetic shoes off in the evening and put on the crocs. Pretty darn close to going barefooted but offering protection on stepping on stuff or breaking a toe on a chair. Great benefit is if they get dirty just wash them off or wear them in the shower. Marge wears those flip flops, which is about barefooted. Lot of people wear them things. When in an emergency I've slipped hers on and did something, maybe once a year. Gosh knows how many pairs of them she has.

Back in the first part of the 1900s, pictures show a good many went barefooted. I've seen a bunch of pictures of cotton pickers going barefooted while picking cotton. I would imagine finances played a role in whether one had shoes. And if they did have shoes, they were kept for dress up and not for everyday work or wear.

I would imagine the ritzier one thinks they are, the less they go barefooted. In my mind, good down-home common folk spend a good amount of time barefooted. Next time you meet someone and wonder if they are worth a flip have them take their shoes off. If the bottom of their foot is calloused and a bit dirty "they're OK!"