...hippies in Lawrence, KS, a "listed" barefoot hippie town, don't like to walk around barefoot. I ran into a guy, Colin, on campus who was barefoot but left his moccasins by his backpack with his girlfriend, Jamie. I went to hang out with them on a grassy knoll and chat a bit, since I was excited to actually see someone barefoot on campus. When I talked to Colin, he said he didn't go barefoot in public because he was afraid of broken glass! His girlfriend even thinks it's against health dept. regulations to go barefoot in an eating establishment! (Colin said she stopped him from going into the campus food court barefoot.) Then, I went to The Third Planet, hoping to find a hemp anklet. (I didn't find it.) I met a pretty cool clerk there, Adam, who was barefoot inside the store. He tried to help me out, but he couldn't. I encountered him while he was stocking the shelves and asked him if he went barefoot around town. Adam said no - he was afraid of all the broken glass downtown. There does tend to be a lot of broken glass in our alleys. Some in the streets after bar-hopping. But really, it's possible to walk around barefoot here without stepping on broken glass! And even then, if these wusses would just toughen up, they could deal with it! It was wonderful to find out that people in this town do go barefoot at places other than Wakarusa festival, but it was rather disappointing to see that no one ever walks around town barefoot!
Almost no one does in our towns, either, and one of our towns is Bar Harbor. I may see one person per year, besides myself, in the thousands upon thousands who fill that summer resort every summer.
I live in the West Palm Beach area and the last person I saw barefoot in public was me! Really, the last person I saw barefoot in public was a teenage girl about 3 years ago. Even the homeless have flips on. Everyone down here wears flip flops or some kind of leather thong sandal.
the popularity of flips has changed the attitudes toward barefooting. i am the only barefooter i see. once in a while one may see a barefoot street kid, but it is a rarity.
I see flips as a way, probably the only way, we northerners come close to bare foot, and almost anywhere we want. Unless you work at a bank or some place where hard footwear is insisted on. Otherwise, even though it's still not real bare footing, the flips, or flops, have done a lot to get millions of feet out into the sun and air. Mixed blessing, I know. But up here probably more of a blessing. Gets them out of their fuckin shoes.
the university here 45,000 students, I'd say at least 75% of the kids wear flip flops. as spruce said, its as close as it comes but at least their feet aren't encased in shoes.
