Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Topic started by: Unorthodox on May 17, 2016, 01:42:51 PM

Title: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Unorthodox on May 17, 2016, 01:42:51 PM

Went for a walk with my daughter the other day around the neighborhood.

Barefoot. 

She found that odd. 

My feet have been hardened after years of going barefoot.  100 degree temps across blacktop and snow covered driveways are no deterrent to my feet.  Very few native plants have the ability to puncture them anymore either.

Shoes are for public or doing dangerous work. 

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 02:06:49 PM

I'm trying and failing to recall when I had shoes on last.  Probably on cold mornings for kitten-watching, but I'm only sure of bedroom slippers.  Every week and a half for cigarette runs before it got mostly warm, and I did have a doctor thing a couple months ago...

"You forgot...." I'm not wearing any right now...

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Unorthodox on May 17, 2016, 02:10:31 PM

Slippers count in my book. 

I'm talking pure barefoot freedom. 

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 02:15:20 PM

I have had on slippers this month, then.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Lorizael on May 17, 2016, 03:24:59 PM

If I'm outside the house, which is true whenever I'm at work, school, or whatever, then I'm wearing shoes. If I'm at home, I'm not wearing shoes. I've never really lived in the kind of neighborhoods where going around barefoot was a good idea. Once, when I said something stupid and made my first girlfriend unhappy, she ran from the apartment we were in and I chased her out barefoot. That chase ended with a shard of glass in my foot.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 03:28:29 PM

I've walked the sidewalks barefoot in New York City a couple blocks from Times Square.  Lucked out with the broken glass and didn't step on any of the sleeping people, either...

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Lorizael on May 17, 2016, 03:39:30 PM

I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm talking about the mean streets of Montgomery County, MD here, a suburb of DC and one of the richest counties in the US. I wasn't dodging crack-addled hobos or anything, but it's also not the same as being out in the country or whatever.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: ColdWizard on May 17, 2016, 03:55:33 PM

As a small child, I stepped on a bee and was stung. Shoes outside ever since.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 03:58:55 PM

Pardon my familiarity towards friend, but - sissy.  I had the same at least once in childhood - stings always hurt, but that one was a shock and a doozy.  Still just came in from 15 minutes standing in wet grass cat-watching at 58 degrees, all nekkid of the feets.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: ColdWizard on May 17, 2016, 04:01:30 PM

Right in the soft juicy center of the sole of the foot.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 04:03:53 PM

Mine was on the instep, ISTR.

Lori, I couldn't say if the hobos were crack-addled, just that they slept on the sidewalk in a not-good neighborhood and New Yorkers seemed to think nothing of having to step over a sleeping stranger.  Oddly, this was post-Giuliani, when there was supposed to be less of that action

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: gwillybj on May 17, 2016, 04:04:22 PM

For some unknown reason I always wear socks, then I put on my sneakers to go outside.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Rusty Edge on May 17, 2016, 06:00:21 PM

Strangely, I didn't put on socks or shoes today, which is really unusual.

When I was a kid in the filthy coal town, we went barefoot. It saved on dirty socks and shoes. There we had a lawn interplanted with white clover. I guess it was a thing in the 1940s, ( this was the 60s )which would make sense because the clover fixes nitrogen for the grass, saving on nitrate fertilizer, which would have been scarce due to explosives production.  Lots of bees and stings.

A couple of moves later, I lived on an abandoned farm we were reclaiming, got a rusty nail through my sneaker, and into my heel. Switched to work shoes outside, mostly socks inside.

I got a planter's wart on my heel once. The podiatrist's treatment consisted of carving with a scalpel and acid bandages. He said it was too deep for liquid nitrogen. I think that got my feet protected pretty much all of the time. The podiatrist was of the opinion that moccasins were inadequate, that they should be burned, to remove the temptation of digging them up and wearing them again if they were only buried.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Unorthodox on May 17, 2016, 07:21:04 PM

Quote from: Rusty Edge on May 17, 2016, 06:00:21 PM

When I was a kid in the filthy coal town, we went barefoot. It saved on dirty socks and shoes. There we had a lawn interplanted with white clover. I guess it was a thing in the 1940s, ( this was the 60s )which would make sense because the clover fixes nitrogen for the grass, saving on nitrate fertilizer, which would have been scarce due to explosives production.  Lots of bees and stings.

From 2 folks born prior to 1920:

The clover was interplanted along with the grass to prevent weeds from overtaking the grass.  Clover would come up first and provide weed abatement while the young grass would catch up.  After the grass was established, you're supposed to go back over it with a weed killer to kill the clover.  Somewhere along the way, the effective weed killer was outlawed and the clover usually ended up remaining in many a lawn.  (or someone was too lazy to go back over)


Bees:
If it can bite or sting, it's got me.  Bees are practically pleasant unless you're allergic.  Hardly a deterrent. 

Now, if pepsis wasps had ground hives, I'd think about putting on shoes. 

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Buster's Uncle on May 17, 2016, 07:33:48 PM

I think it was so common that clover gets into grass seeds - at least, it's common in yards not nearly that old in these parts...

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Rusty Edge on May 17, 2016, 07:45:35 PM

Okay. Clover was a cover crop.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Unorthodox on May 17, 2016, 07:52:20 PM

Quote from: BUncle on May 17, 2016, 07:33:48 PM

I think it was so common that clover gets into grass seeds - at least, it's common in yards not nearly that old in these parts...

Both the folks I worked for SPECIFICALLY BOUGHT clover to mix with the grass, and gave me that explanation.  I don't believe either lawn has clover in it today.  (one would be a slight detour to check)

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Valka on May 18, 2016, 04:37:22 AM

When I was a child we lived on an acreage. I often went barefoot, or wore thongs (the footwear currently known as "flip-flops"). Thing is, the only good soil was in the gardens and the rest of it was sand. There were lots of thistles, and part of the driveway had rocky patches; that hurt when barefoot. So did the lawn, as we rarely watered it. And my dad had lots of old car bodies around; he always swore he would fix them but he never did. So there were lots of miscellaneous things lying around - nails, glass, even tin cans (we burned the garbage out back, but some of it tended to meander...).

Anyway, this is where I grew up, and where I played. There was a huge sand hill behind the house, and the garbage pile was in front of it (lots of room for me to get by).

The one and only time I was ever injured was when a bee stung me... on the arm.


Nowadays I know better. I wear shoes outside and slippers inside. I don't like shoes, and welcome summer only because I don't need socks. But going barefoot around here is asking for trouble.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: Eadee on May 18, 2016, 11:26:31 AM

I liked to go with bare feet and did wear shoes only if necessary. However I have to deak with one of my legs being 2,5cm shorter than the other. Therefore I need to wear shoes so I can compensate the difference.

If i don't compensate inside the shoes, my spine would bend to compensate, leading to a hurting back an headaches.

Title: Re: How often do you wear shoes?
Post by: gwillybj on July 24, 2016, 01:07:40 PM

Quote from: gwillybj on May 17, 2016, 04:04:22 PM

For some unknown reason I always wear socks, then I put on my sneakers to go outside.

I wish I had shoes on Thursday evening. I was boiling a pot of spaghetti when it sent a big splash of hot water out onto my foot. I couldn't get my left sock off fast enough, and I was hopping around on my right foot. ;aaa There's no blister: It blew a quarter-sized patch of skin right off the pinky toe. Still hurts now (Sunday morning).