doing it barefoot...

there seems to be a rather large movement to go barefoot.  there are many studies that show the benefits of going barefoot; less deformed toes, great flexor strength, denser muscles on the bottom of the feet, greater agility, more ability to spread toes (this doesn't seem like a highly desirable benefit to me) and the list continues.  i have seen people hiking, exercising, running, you name it people are doing it barefoot.

so here's the deal, the other day while i was at work there was a gentleman walking down the street.  gasp!  keep your britches on there is more to the story.  he seemed well put together (nice clothes and well groomed) however he wasn't wearing any shoes.  he didn't even have a bag with him, so there wasn't even shoes being carried on his person.  he didn't even have the laces of his shoes tied together and thrown over his shoulder.  did you ever do this?  i did this with my track shoes.

i rarely go barefoot.  i am not put together well from the hips down and need the support of my shoes.  huh?  oh alright, my hips are naturally rotated out and my knees rotate in.  it's a mess that cannot be corrected.  i have had custom orthotics made that are supposed to help, but it just transfers where my body naturally rotates and makes a different part of me hurt.  so i will forever have achy knees.  i try not to be a baby about it.

anyway, back to this man.  i am not a huge germiphobe, but i can't imagine how many nasty things he stepped on; people's spit globs, boogers from the man who "farmer blows" all the time, gum, seagull poo, urine from a different man who pees on the wall everyday, other random wetness, food remnants, yeah it's a long list and i can think of many more things, but i am getting grossed out.

this man didn't seem to have a care in the world in his nice clothes and perfectly coiffed hair, in fact he wasn't even watching where he was placing his feet.  uh what?  okay let's say for giggles that i decided on my lunch break to take walk...barefoot.  you can guarantee that my head would be wobbling back and forth scanning the ground for potential yuck and how to avoid it.  even when i walk barefoot in the grass if i step on something unexpected my brain says yuck and i pick my foot up real quick. 

i suppose if you are a regular barefooter you have callouses and have probably grown accustomed to strange textures and surfaces pressing against your feet.  that maybe the random gooey or surprising wet wouldn't phase you, but how long until you get to that point?  there must be a learning curve here, a grace period before your feet get tough enough to not notice, a span of time before your yuck reflex stops kicking in. 

i will probably not be participating in the barefoot movement.  i fancy shoes way too much and i am going to save myself the embarrassment of leaping around because of my yuck reflex.