Shoes are Tools

I rarely wear shoes at all.  My boss doesn't mind be being barefoot at work, and my wife is thrilled that I've finally come around to being barefoot at home.  But shoes are tools.  So the other day, after we were finished performing 16 shows of Pinocchio at the Enchanted Playhouse, we went down to help strike the set.  I knew that there were going to be screws all over the floor as we dismantled everything.  So I wore shoes.  Ironically, one of the other guys managed to step on a screw that went right through his shoe into his foot!

For a while one of the directors at the playhouse kept pestering me about wearing shoes saying, "I'm just concerned about your safety."  I finally convinced him to let me be when I reminded him how many times I've drawn attention to jagged edges and screws poking through set walls, yet no one ever deals with those hazards until somebody bleeds or a beloved costume gets torn. Twice I've been onstage acting while secretly applying direct pressure to a bleeding finger that I've snagged on a rough prop or ragged wall.

Barefoot Hiking

I am full-on barefoot most of the time.  At home, at work, around town.  If I go into a restaurant with my wife or kids, I'll put on a pair of slippers or something rather than take a chance that they get caught in the middle of a "Shoe-Down" with the management. 

So my feet are perfectly used to the easy stuff.  And my body can easily compensate for the terrain of urban life.  When you start to step on something uncomfortable, your foot lets you know so you don't put your weight down, and you shift.  But I found last year when I tried to hike totally barefoot in Yosemite, my body was doing that kind of accommodation with every other step.  So the amount of extra work I did with my back and legs, to minimize the pricks and pokes of the trail was stunning.  After 2 miles barefoot (downhill) my entire body was exhausted.  Yet the next day, I hiked 14 miles with my boots and did great.

So it sounds like my feet were ready, but my body wasn't in good enough shape!  This summer, I'm planning on trips to both Yosemite and Yellowstone, and am going to do a bunch of hiking with my family.  I'm hoping to go mostly barefoot, but carry my Merril TrailGloves just in case.

Anybody have advice for the barefoot hiker?

Let The Games Begin

Sometimes I just get tired of all the games I have to play to be barefoot in public.  Sometimes I despair of the unending discussions I have to endure because I am different.  Sometimes I begin to doubt my sanity, as people who seem perfectly reasonable listen to all my arguments, and eventually say, "Well, everything you say seems to make sense, but I refuse to change my mind.  I still think shoes are normal, necessary, and federally mandated!" Some days I feel like getting my feet tattooed with a picture of shoes, just so people will leave me alone.

Here's where I'm going to post my rants about my barefoot rights.

Michael
The Barefoot Pastor