Personally, I like to push the envelope as much as possible. However,
as Ken Bob said, if I'm not in the mood to be harassed, I'll wear a
pair of flipflops. However, I've tried going barefoot in just about
every kind of store imaginable from malls, to restaurants, to
libraries, post offices, banks, hardware stores, etc. I'd say about
95% of the time, I never have a problem. On those rare cases that I
do, I am sometimes able to reason with the person and they leave me
alone. If they are stubborn, I simply leave. Most of the time I keep
my emotions under control, but unfortunately, I lost my cool one time
recently when a McDonald's manager insisted it was a health department
rule. I ended up sending her a letter of apology later along with the
proof from the local health department refuting her claim.

Oftentimes, when someone just won't listen to reason, I can usually
find another similar store (or an identical store) nearby where I don't
have a problem. I remember one time years ago when I lived in
Washington state, the manager of the local Fred Meyer department store
sent me a letter of apology for an incident where one of his employees
had ejected me from the store for being barefoot. His letter indicated
their store had no policy about bare feet and that there were no laws
against it. Unfortunately, I lost track of that letter, but it was
quite the victory!

I'm taking a road trip right now from Alabama to Washington, DC and
haven't had anything on my feet since about 4:30 yesterday afternoon.
It's been wonderful!

Of course, there will always be people who stare or make rude comments,
but after 23 years of doing this, it usually doesn't even register
anymore. I just feel sorry for them in their ignorance and prejudice.

Victor

--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Nate Polaske"
<tiggermaxcocoa@...> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> I've read multiple cases from some of you about going barefoot during
> your everyday lives and getting griped at. Specifically though, where
> do you draw the line? Do any of you go to the mall barefoot? Grocery
> stores? Restaurants? Other stores?
>
> --Nate
>