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

I never get looks, but am usually barefoot in public places such as parks, beach

(running in

the sand is a new love), or Hudson walkway.



Drawing the line is tough. I wouldn't enter an establishment where food was

served, nor

would I demand service  from an establishment that clearly states shoes are

mandatory.



--- 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

>

Locally, I go in grocery stores and a few restaurants barefoot,

because I know it isn't a problem. I'll take my sandals or slippers

for the mall or other department stores, only because it is a

balancing act between the health of my feet and my overall health,

which is greatly affected by the stress of being harassed. I can live

with occassional harassment, but it isn't worth it everytime I want

to do business someplace.



I continue to go barefoot in many local stores, which do not have a

reputation for harassing barefooters, and where I've tested

the "water" during my more adventurous and experimental barefoot

period (I was barefoot, 24/7 during the entire year of 2000, as well

as several months before and after).



I do not regularly patronize food stores or restaurants that claim

state law requires customers to wear shoes. The funny thing about

wearing shoes or going barefoot where food is served, is that, first

of all, shoes are at least as dirty as feet, and shoes actually help

make and keep feet dirty and fungusy. Secondly, it shouldn't make any

difference whether we wear dirty shoes, clean feet, clean shoes, or

dirty feet, where food is served, as long as we don't dance on the

dishes, and the employees don't scrape our food off the floor.

Thirdly, it isn't a health department law! The laws are assumed by

many, thanks to signs, "by order of the health department" which are

outright lies! Anyway, I don't really want to eat where the

management doesn't know, understand, and/or lies about, health laws,

and principles of sanitation!



In restaurants, the case, often, is that no one bothers you if you

slip your footwear off under the table - just having the footwear

near your feet seems to make management so much more comfortable

about you spending your money there... go figure?



When traveling, I'm usually pretty stressed out anyway, and

especially if I'm traveling to run a marathon, I don't need

additional stress in the days leading up to the event. So, unless I'm

with other local barefooters who have tested the local "waters", I'll

minimize my stress by wearing sandals or slippers in stores and

restaurants.



For me, it is usually a balance between the stress of wearing

sandals/slippers, and the stress of being confronted with the all-too-

common predjudice against bare human feet. While I may be

uncomfortable in footwear for the few minutes it takes to conduct my

business, that discomfort goes away after I remove my footwear. Once

I've been harassed, and that harassment can be very hateful, and

threatening, that harassment stays in my head for the rest of the

day, and sometimes much longer.



I do not believe it is "RIGHT" that some folks mess with our head in

this way, lieing about laws that do not exist to manipulate us to do

stuff that we believe is not healthy for our feet, simply because

they, and/or some of their customers are confused about the sanitary

value of shoes.



I do believe in standing up for my "RIGHTS".



But I also do not believe it is right for folks to shoot bullets in

my direction. Nevertheless, I'm not going to assert my "RIGHTS", by,

knowingly, walking in front of someone firing bullets at people!



Likewise, I will avoid unnecessarily stressful situations MOST of the

time. But, occassionally, it is necessary to put ourselves into

stressful situations, both so that we can grow as individuals, and to

help inform others.



In one such case, the manager of a store near Boston, a few of us

barefooters were told we needed shoes, and we pointed out that it

wasn't a law, and the manager said, "Then who cares?" and left us

alone.



Have fun,

-barefoot ken bob







--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "mizzzkittykat"

<ex.e_ge_ses@...> wrote:

>

> I never get looks, but am usually barefoot in public places such as

parks, beach (running in

> the sand is a new love), or Hudson walkway.

>

> Drawing the line is tough. I wouldn't enter an establishment where

food was served, nor

> would I demand service  from an establishment that clearly states

shoes are mandatory.

>

> --- 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

> >

>

Hi BKB,

You know, what you write below reminds me of what I do sometimes.

When I am feeling shy and running in some really built-up areas that I

am not so familiar with, I sometimes carry flip-flips (thongs to you

dudes across the pond) in my hand.   This seems to make people happy.

  Odd.  I think they assume that I tried running in them, got a

blister, so took them off and am "temporarily" running barefoot, for a

couple of blocks.  There's an element of truth to this - I did try

running in footwear, and, they did hurt me, except that, I took them

off not the last block (as an observer would assume) but sometime in

December 2004.

Yanni.

Barefoot runner since December 2004.





> In restaurants, the case, often, is that no one bothers you if you

> slip your footwear off under the table - just having the footwear

> near your feet seems to make management so much more comfortable

> about you spending your money there... go figure?

>

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

>

Mostly barefoot all of the time.  Since July 1, 2008, only had shoes

on for 3 occasions for a total of 16 hours (three long meetings).

Since 2004, 80% barefoot.



I go barefoot at work, stores, malls, restaurants, the one of the

oldest baseball parks in the US, church services, etc.



Last winter, at one buffet style of restaurant, the staff had seen

me walking around the business park they are in (1.5 mi walk), and

it was about 28 degrees outside, and they were so shocked that was

barefooting in that weather, that it became a non-issue.  I have

been in there many times since, and several customers have made

comments to the staff.  I hear the staff reply with comments that I

go barefoot outside, so why wear shoes inside, He goes barefoot in

the snow, too., Our floors are clean, he is the floor inspector, etc.



I go barefoot to the doctor, and dentist, too.  The staff at the

Dentist had seen me waking "Race for the Cure" barefoot a couple of

years ago, and when I entered the dentist office the next time,

first time there barefoot, the comments were all positive.



A friend was recently in a large regional hospital, and I spent

rougly 36 hours over 3 days visiting.  On two of the days I was

barefoot in shorts, too, waiting rooms, surgery prep, doctor

conference, cafeteria, gift shop, recovery room.  One day, I wore a

pair of thin socks to look more formal (Sunday).  The only comment

was from the cashier in the cafeteria, that commented that I looked

very comfy barefoot.



yes, I have had some "can't be in here" issues.  I will politely

psych out the flawed logic, or return with paperwork, or call

corporate and start asking questions.



One funny.  There is a grocery store that has serious anti-barefoot

issues.  I purchased a pair of Lyric sandals.  The have straps, but

thin sole only covers ball of foot, the toes and heel are bare

touching the ground.  I specifically comment to the staff how nice

the floor feels on the bare toes and heal. After several visits, not

even the manager will question that I am not wearing shoes, when

wearing Lyric sandals.  I even asked one of the managers if they met

their definition of shoes, He said he would have to check, but

allowed me to shop. So a mini win situation, I guess.



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Nate Polaske"

<tiggermaxcocoa@...> wrote:

barefootnow2004 wrote:

>

> Last winter, at one buffet style of restaurant, the staff had seen

> me walking around the business park they are in (1.5 mi walk), and

> it was about 28 degrees outside, and they were so shocked that was

> barefooting in that weather, that it became a non-issue.  I have

> been in there many times since, and several customers have made

> comments to the staff.  I hear the staff reply with comments that I

> go barefoot outside, so why wear shoes inside, He goes barefoot in

> the snow, too., Our floors are clean, he is the floor inspector, etc.



When not using a standard unit, please specify, I had to re-read this

several time to understand what was going on, and finally came to the

conclusion this had to be 28 F (I initially assumed that the pavement got

too hot, and then got confused by the presence of snow and started to wonder

if these were too different events in two different season).



--

Yves.

http://www.SollerS.ca

My kids go barefoot everywhere here in Portland, year round, but we do

get comments and stares (just the other day at the airport) and a lot

of kids point out to their parents that my kids are barefoot (I assume

the thinking is either "why do I have to wear shoes if those kids

don't?" or  "ooh, look, those kids are bad").  :) It was interesting

that on our recent 10-day trip to  Seattle we didn't get any comments

or trouble from anyone (even in nice restaurants and museums).



My husband and I do wear shoes (as does our teenager) but the younger

three do not, ever.  I do often bring shoes for the kids with me (in

the car, or in my purse) because some stores/restaurants actually DO

have a policy that states that everyone must wear shoes - but mostly

people just THINK that it's a law or a policy when it's really not.

And we can choose whether we want to shop there if our children are

not welcome with their feet.  At Fred Meyer last year, an employee

told me the kids had to have shoes and I asked him if it was store

policy - he said yes and I asked to see the policy in writing - after

talking to several people, managers, etc. they could not produce it,

and it turns out that it's NOT a store policy.  It's not a health

code, law, etc. and yes my child might step on a piece of glass now

and then but they have tough feet and a small cut is not life

threatening anyway - and barefooting is not dirty - first of all one

doesn't eat or open doors with their feet, and the bottom of my

child's feet are no more dirty than the bottom of their shoes would be

- actually the feet are probably cleaner because we wash them

frequently - I don't ever wash the bottom of my shoes!  Anyway, I

could go on and on...I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining

that it's a personal choice, intentional, healthy and nothing for

people to worry about!  :)



Emily

That would be awesome.  I'd love to have pamphlets to hand to people

when they ask me about barefoot running and explain to people that

it's not against the law to go barefoot.  Let me know if you ever put

one together.



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Emily Troper <emtroper@...> wrote:



> I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining

--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, "Jon" <jonmhayden@...> wrote:

>

> That would be awesome.  I'd love to have pamphlets to hand to people

> when they ask me about barefoot running and explain to people that

> it's not against the law to go barefoot.  Let me know if you ever put

> one together.

>

> --- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Emily Troper <emtroper@> wrote:

>

> > I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining



The Society for Barefoot Living has a flyer and a tri-fold brochure

available on there website, here:



   <http://www.barefooters.org/publicity/>.



Bob

Hey Emily! I didn't know I had another barefoot "neighbor" close by.



Do you run barefoot? Maybe we could meet up down by the Portland

waterfront sometime and run the river parks.



Ryan

Vancouver





--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Emily Troper <emtroper@...> wrote:

>

> My kids go barefoot everywhere here in Portland, year round, but we do

> get comments and stares (just the other day at the airport) and a lot

> of kids point out to their parents that my kids are barefoot (I assume

> the thinking is either "why do I have to wear shoes if those kids

> don't?" or  "ooh, look, those kids are bad").  :) It was interesting

> that on our recent 10-day trip to  Seattle we didn't get any comments

> or trouble from anyone (even in nice restaurants and museums).

>

> My husband and I do wear shoes (as does our teenager) but the younger

> three do not, ever.  I do often bring shoes for the kids with me (in

> the car, or in my purse) because some stores/restaurants actually DO

> have a policy that states that everyone must wear shoes - but mostly

> people just THINK that it's a law or a policy when it's really not.

> And we can choose whether we want to shop there if our children are

> not welcome with their feet.  At Fred Meyer last year, an employee

> told me the kids had to have shoes and I asked him if it was store

> policy - he said yes and I asked to see the policy in writing - after

> talking to several people, managers, etc. they could not produce it,

> and it turns out that it's NOT a store policy.  It's not a health

> code, law, etc. and yes my child might step on a piece of glass now

> and then but they have tough feet and a small cut is not life

> threatening anyway - and barefooting is not dirty - first of all one

> doesn't eat or open doors with their feet, and the bottom of my

> child's feet are no more dirty than the bottom of their shoes would be

> - actually the feet are probably cleaner because we wash them

> frequently - I don't ever wash the bottom of my shoes!  Anyway, I

> could go on and on...I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining

> that it's a personal choice, intentional, healthy and nothing for

> people to worry about!  :)

>

> Emily

>

Emily,



Do you home school your children?  If not, how does the school handle

them being barefoot?  It seems like something they wouldn't like.

Public school especially are ridiculous with some of their policies.



--Nate



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, Emily Troper <emtroper@...> wrote:

>

> My kids go barefoot everywhere here in Portland, year round, but we do

> get comments and stares (just the other day at the airport) and a lot

> of kids point out to their parents that my kids are barefoot (I assume

> the thinking is either "why do I have to wear shoes if those kids

> don't?" or  "ooh, look, those kids are bad").  :) It was interesting

> that on our recent 10-day trip to  Seattle we didn't get any comments

> or trouble from anyone (even in nice restaurants and museums).

>

> My husband and I do wear shoes (as does our teenager) but the younger

> three do not, ever.  I do often bring shoes for the kids with me (in

> the car, or in my purse) because some stores/restaurants actually DO

> have a policy that states that everyone must wear shoes - but mostly

> people just THINK that it's a law or a policy when it's really not.

> And we can choose whether we want to shop there if our children are

> not welcome with their feet.  At Fred Meyer last year, an employee

> told me the kids had to have shoes and I asked him if it was store

> policy - he said yes and I asked to see the policy in writing - after

> talking to several people, managers, etc. they could not produce it,

> and it turns out that it's NOT a store policy.  It's not a health

> code, law, etc. and yes my child might step on a piece of glass now

> and then but they have tough feet and a small cut is not life

> threatening anyway - and barefooting is not dirty - first of all one

> doesn't eat or open doors with their feet, and the bottom of my

> child's feet are no more dirty than the bottom of their shoes would be

> - actually the feet are probably cleaner because we wash them

> frequently - I don't ever wash the bottom of my shoes!  Anyway, I

> could go on and on...I do want to make a little pamphlet explaining

> that it's a personal choice, intentional, healthy and nothing for

> people to worry about!  :)

>

> Emily

>

Yes, we homeschool two out of four of our children, the one who

chooses to attend public school is fine to "play the game" (his words)

and wear shoes during school hours, and the other one attends this

school http://www.villagefreeschool.org/ where shoes are optional and

most of the kids are barefoot all day.



Thanks so much for the link to the flyer!

You go into Home Depot barefoot? I got kicked out of the Gilroy CA

Home Depot a couple of weeks ago, for being barefoot. A worker called

a manager, and he insisted that I put on shoes or leave. I pointed out

that they had no sign on the door requiring shoes, and that there is

no state law requiring shoes. He said "yes there is, you know--no

shoes, no shirt, no service!". Not the sharpest tool in the store,

obviously.



What was really ironic was that there was a major safety hazard right

out in the parking lot--my electrician brother pointed to a light pole

that was missing an access cover, so 205V wires were sitting there

where any kid could reach in and get zapped.



Barefoot Kelly in Madison



--- In RunningBarefoot@yahoogroups.com, victoriapatt@... wrote:

>

> I go in my post office, Lowe's, Home Depot, lots of service stations and

> small stores.  I wear flipflops to church and take them off a lot of the

> time while there.  Walmart I usually wear flip flops in and take

them off

> while there.  Only the one time have I had a complaint at a small

store at a

> local service station. We do have a dress code at work but I keep

something

> their that I can put on my feet when someone comes in who thinks

they are

> important, my supervisor doesn't care.

> Victoria

>   ><>

>