Miss Manners Addresses NSNSNS

We take a break from our regularly-scheduled travelog in the Badlands because a reader has asked Miss Manners about the “No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service” signs in restaurants.

But you really won’t believe what torques off that reader.

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Hobby Lobby

The way the law is is that stores and the like are considered private property, and that owners are allowed to do as they wish with their private property. Property rights are strong.

But it’s not that simple.

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Where is the Barefoot Boy?

Here’s an op-ed that appeared in a rural Iowa newspaper back in June of 1957.

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When do the Teens End?

I’m in the mood for revisiting an over-10-year old issue.

It is now 2014, and when does the decade of the Teens end? Of course it is December 31 of 2019, and the new decade of the Twenties starts with January 1, 2020. And that is clearly how all the decades work. Yet, back in 1999 we were told we had to wait for 2001, and that there was this huge decade/century/millennium mismatch, supposedly “because there is no year zero.” Thus we were told by the pedantic. Supposedly, Arthur C. Clarke’s “2001” has that name for the same pedantic reason.

Well, the pedants were wrong. Here’s the right answer.

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Shoddie versus Shoddy

I think that, within the barefooting community, we are all aware of the term “shoddie”. There are some who don’t like it, saying that it can be insulting to habitual shoe-wearers, but I do use it, and I think it aptly describes what’s going on.

I thought I’d start by tossing out a few definitions.

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11 Reasons Podiatrists Dislike Bare Feet

Maybe it’s time I did a listicle.

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Disgustingly Dirty Feet . . . or Not

I played tennis yesterday morning as part of a Tuesday bunch of friends and acquaintances. One of them mentioned to me that he’d seen this thing on Facebook about This Dude Didn’t Wear Shoes For 8 Years!.

It was described as gross . . . and it was.

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The Archetype

I came across this newspaper column from 1966 that I think pretty much sums up and explains why going barefoot is so reviled by so many. It illuminates all too well the mindset of those who put up so many roadblocks back in the 1960s, and who continue to do so today.

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Is It Cheating?

When I wrote about What You Didn’t Know About the Arizona Anti-Gay Bill, I talked about how it was an attempted modification of Arizona’s existing Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), but I also talked about how the RFRAs could be used by barefooters with sincere religious motives.

But is that cheating?

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We Must Be Civilized

The opposition to barefooting sometimes is just mind-boggling. I know a lot of us wonder what’s behind it. It arises in the weirdest places, and seems to generate an amount of heat way out of proportion to such a simple act.

It seems we must be civilized.

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I’m Giving Up Escalators

I think I’m going to give up escalators. While I’m at it, I’ll also give up elevators.

It’s the least I can do for the poor people of the world.

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Dictated by Customs

You would think that after all these years of going barefooted, I’d no longer have concerns about whether to go barefoot and that worries would be behind me.

But there is still a niggling in the back of the brain.

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Mid-Flight Mis-Focus

The New York Times has weighed in again, this time regarding bare feet on airplanes, and yet again focus on the wrong culprits.

I guess we shouldn’t be surprised.

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Thank Goodness She Wasn’t Barefoot

Did you see that Carrie Underwood injured herself in concert a few days ago?

You know if she’d been barefoot it would have really reinforced in everybody’s minds how dangerous bare feet are.

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A Confession

I’ve been going nearly-continuously barefoot for about 17 years now. Yet, I have to admit that, when I see another barefoot person in a non-beach environment, it still looks weird to me.

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