I did my first jogs barefoot in San Sebastian and in Barcelona (hobbled a lot). People sometimes stared. In Barcelona, I got lost and happened upon an Apple Store where the wifi let me figure out I was a few blocks off course. I went in to check out the iPhone 6!
4.26 miles from home to the lake on a morning run barefooted. Some parts of the route were grassy and wet so it felt nice underfoot. Then to Peet's for coffee. It was easy.
Shopped barefoot at REI Folsom today, browsing the aisles for clearance items. Even with a large footware department, no one seemed fazed by my lack of shoes. Then I went to refuel the car at Costco and walk the cavernous store for household supplies. Has anyone ever noticed how smooth the concrete is? If your cart is heavy with drinks it takes a little effort to stop without hitting the customer ahead of you if your feet can't grip the ground! Don't tailgate if you are barefoot at Costco.
REI is officially barefoot friendly at the corporate level. They have gone on record claiming so. As far as Costco traction? It has been my experience that bare feet are superior to any form of footwear in almost all circumstances, ESPECIALLY if we are considering braking reports on surfaces such as those found at Costco.
More reasons to shop and buy at REI, even at retail prices! But I love the 1-year return policy which I use very often. On the other hand I buy more than I return even if the price drops. I went back for more barefoot shopping last week and walked out with running hoodie - at a sale price. LOL
This week, my gym buddy wanted to stop by Safeway before going to the farmers market. So barefoot supermarket shopping was just a continuation of my barefoot morning at the gym with shopping the farmers market afterwards. Walking on coarse gravel at the farmers market was a bit uncomfortable carrying ten pounds of navel oranges ($8, sweet deal for sweet and juicy fruit!). Yum.
Oh well. I'm not a fighter. The ID checker at the Costco I went into today said I had to wear shoes to get in. I asked if there was a policy and he said it was "for your own safety"... Was it worth a five minute discussion? I thought not. So I went out to the car to get my birkies. A rebel with no bite?
It was the right call in my opinion. It was good not arguing with an employee just doing their job. No need to skyline yourself at the front gates of Costco when there's absolutely no need to do so. We're living in a society, after all, so each one of us can't always get what we want. That's why we just have to take it where we can get it, and enjoy the moments in which we actually do manage to get it.
Yesterday in McDonald's, while I was waiting in line to buy a burger, some customer seemingly a middle aged WASP woman comes over to me and tells me it's illegal to be bf indoors. So I politely asked her why was that, and she said I'd have to ask the police why. So after I let her finish her speech, I thanked her for her concern. But to my surprise, she looked rather annoyed by the pleasant response and left without a word. Do these people expect a fight or something?
This thread reminds me of when I was at University in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Quite a few of us used to go barefoot (only in the Summer ). The University Library wouldn't let me in without shoes! I used to take them in my rucksack and change in order to get in. I don't like to make a fuss .... At the same period a few of my friends and I used to run at a local playing field. Quite often I'd slip my trainers off. Never thought of trying to run on pavements or roads barefoot in those days.
Wow. Anti's note brought back memories of university when I would shuck my shoes and sox in the library and saunter around during study breaks or while searching for something in the stacks. It made me feel like a rebel. Otherwise, I tried to blend in. I wonder if they required shoes for entry to the library in those days. LOL
At least in my neighborhood, I can check off the Trader Joes and the local green grocery. Walked in to shop without shoes and everyone took it in stride. A TJ clerk even lead me to the bread section when I couldn't find the baguettes.
There's a little co-op grocery next to my office. Members get a discount. I've gone in there barefoot many times, but Saturday morning, just after they had opened up, with few customers yet, a busybody co-op member took it upon himself to tell me while I was checking out that in terms of "best practice," it would be best to wear shoes. This really set me off. First, I'm in a sort of post-hippie/liberal humanist-type establishment, where you expect people to be more open-minded, or at least be "live and let live" sorts of people. Second, this dude was spouting some stupid corporate management buzzword. How the hell is the phrase "best practice" supposed to convince me? It did catch me off guard though. Instead of questioning his assumptions about health codes or safety, I didn't know how to respond. So I said simply that I thought barefooting was "best practice." He was equally flummoxed as to how to respond. So I left him stammering as I gathered up my things and left. I'll have to remember that meaningless phrase though, next time someone questions me about barefooting. I'll tell them simply that it's a "best practice." There isn't really anything meaningful you can say in response to that, but I like the way it potentially opens up the discussion to the pros and cons of bare feet and footwear.
I think we're all on the same page - in an attempt to be proactive and goal-oriented, I have leveraged the learnings of many experiences to determine that, at the end of the day, the best practice for me, on a go-forward basis, is to remain barefoot.
Just got this email, my original Kroger victory was five years ago. A bad shopping experience for a 26 year old female a few days ago prompted my follow up letter to the manager of operations Kroger of MI. Dear Dr. Adler, I recently received some feed back regarding an unpleasant shopping experience that your daughter had at our Kroger store located on Greenfield Road in Southfield. I have counseled the store management team that there is not a statute in Michigan that mandates that shoes must be worn in retail establishments. They have been made aware that they are not to refuse service to any customer who chooses to shop in bare feet. I have asked that they immediately begin communicating this information to all store associates. Please pass along my most sincere apologies to your daughter for the experience she had at the location. If she chooses to continue to conduct business with us, we gladly welcome her back to any Kroger location and honor her wishes to shop in bare feet. Should you have additional questions or concerns, please feel free to contact our store manager, ##### ##### $$$-###-#### or myself at the contact information listed below.
Went back into the co-op with the SBL's "A Case for Barefoot " pamphlet (http://www.barefooters.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/A-Case-for-Bare-Feet.pdf). Asked to talk to the manager. Instead I was directed to someone else, Naomi Jackson I believe, the membership coordinator. All I asked was that she read through the pamphlet, keep an open-mind, and reconsider their policy, all with a nice big smile on my face. In turn, I was greeted with immediate hostility and condescension. Perhaps my asking her to keep an open mind was viewed as a hostile opening gambit on my part, I dunno. In any case, after a few exchanges, with her constantly trying to turn my request back on me, comparing barefooting to letting animals in the store, and so on, she told me flat out she wasn't ever going to allow bare feet. So much for keeping an open-mind. I saw it was pointless to continue, her mind was made up, and I was getting sucked into her negativity too, starting to get mad at her. Wrong person I guess. Like Bob Neinast has pointed out, it really is random which employee or manager takes it upon themselves to police feet, or think it's important enough to discriminate against. Too bad the manager wasn't there, perhaps he would've been more respectful, but in general, I've been disappointed by how a supposedly progressive organization like this member-run co-op can cling to its preconceptions even more fiercely and dumbly than mainstream stores. At our local mom and pop place, they've also refused to reconsider their no shoes policy, but at least they didn't treat me like a nut-job (although who knows what they're really thinking). Given the hostility and disrespect of the co-op, I don't think I can go back, even shod. It's all left a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak. Which is a pity, because their organic and locally produced produce really does taste better than the stuff you get most other places.
