Monday, May 19, 2008

The Argus Observes: Going barefooted is a great feeling

From the May 28, 1953 edition of The Argus-Observer

A couple of high school girls I know like to go barefooted. One of them likes to dance barefooted, another likes to play tennis barefooted.

Kenny Ackerman started to dance with one of these girls at the junior-senior prom. She kicked off her shoes and said to Kenny, “My date wouldn’t want to me to do this but I know you won’t care.”

That was a nice indirect compliment for Kenny, unless she regards him as just the “brotherly” type.

The other girl can pound the concrete tennis court barefooted for a whole set of tennis and enjoy it more than if she had shoes on.

I envy these girls.

When I was a kid living out in the country, I never had shoes on except on Sunday, from the time school was out until it started again.

No one who has word shoes all his life has any idea how much freedom there is in just going barefooted. Shoes hem you in, discipline you, serve as a sort of a symbol that makes you perform and conform to the customs of society.

This is just the time of year our shoes used to come off for the summer. We couldn’t run on graveled roads, and sometimes the bull thistle irritated a little if we stepped on it.

But the feel of the grass and the earth is reall good underfoot, a treat today’s kids miss, except for the more rugged individuals like a couple of girls I know who like to go barefooted.

-- By Don Lynch

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