After having had net access for quite a while, I thought that it might be
interesting, to search the WWW for pages about bare feet - I knew there were
some interest pages about barefoot waterskiing... but I was looking for kindred
spirits, really - people like me who prefer walking barefoot for the sheer
pleasure of it.
And then I found a page... It was the homepage of the Dirty Sole Society...
and I realized very quickly, that I had found those kindred spirits I was
looking for... And what spirits, too... people from all walks of life,
having different views, preferring different styles of outfits, having
sometimes even opposing political views... a wonderfully heterogene group
of people sharing one feature: the love for barefooting. I felt like having
found a new home, and making myself comfortable there. And so I did
(Being the third German, as the official member list of the DSS showed me...).
Since the DSS site was not the only place on the net that I roamed, I had another opportunity to meet other barefooters in person: among the participants of a furry fandom get-together known as Sylcon were quite a few. And even though the little house-con was held in the Harz mountains in a very snowy winter, I did not wear any shoes indoors, and even tried myself at snow-footing outdoors. Here is one picture, with yours truly sitting in the kitchen of the con place, enjoying a warm drink on a cold day. My feet were never cold, however. :o)
The fur standing next to me is known as Fairlight.
After having read a lot about how to barefoot safely and reading and
getting some advice from DSS members, I decided, that early spring might
be the time to begin my barefoot life for real... And, honestly, I haven't
worn shoes since that time, except for two occasions: and invitation to a
friend's engagement reception (rather formal clothing) and my uncle's
birthday (Sept. 8), where we dined out in a rather fancy restaurant...
Other than that, I never wore shoes until now (Sept. 19, 1996),
and even as the evenings and early mornings are getting quite cool,
(and the ground tends to get even cooler than the air!!) I am not
even thinking about wearing shoes yet...
I think that this has made me into a barefooter by now. :)
It was not the warmest of summers we had this year, and so it was rather
gloomy, grey and rainy/drizzly, when a meeting of German fans of the
Furry fandom decided to meet at unci's place (Tobias B. Köhler -
see the links list above...) for a weekend of socializing... Although
I did pack a pair of sandals (shame on me.. :)), I never wore them...
and both Tobias and myself enjoyed the moist and (for May) rather cool
temperatures of about +15C (approx. 60F). The city of Braunschweig had
to get used to those two barefoot guys, obviously enjoying their walks
even in mud, rain and cool temperatures... And how we did, indeed!!
Lunch at the Braunschweig Polytechnic cafeteria was no big deal, as
most students did notice our bare feet, but did not mind (just like the
cafeteria and kitchen personnel!! They seemed to know that bare feet
might violate Health Dept. regulations if working there, but that there
are no regulations whatsoever ) regarding the patrons
visiting the facility...
All in all, it was a great weekend, and not only did I meet another DSS
member in the flesh, but also many other very nice people from the Furry
fandom (of which a lot I met 'admitted', that they are at least warm-weather
barefooters...).
This was now a meeting of Furry fans on a European scale in Linköping,
Sweden (located halfway on a line between Göteborg and Stockholm).
Not only did I meet some of the German furries I met earlier this year, but
also a lot of 'EuroFurs', mainly from northern Europe. There was one major
difference to the first meeting on my part: I did not pack any shoes, thus
deciding to tread this terra incognita on my bare feet only. I must say,
that the paved roads and occasional gravel paths were no different than in
Germany. One difference was, however, that when shopping in my bare feet,
I got no nasty comments, or disgusted looks. People saw my bare feet,
but did not comment or sneer... either Swedish people are not as open
in their reactions to other people's outfits, or they are a more tolerant
people altogether...
Indoors, many of the attendants of this meeting (called 'EuroFurence 2') were
barefoot, but outdoors, only Tobias and me decided to walk our way...
Only on the departure day, one of the Swedish EuroFurs who went with us to the
station to board a train to Göteborg, came with us on bare feet all the
way... It may be, that we 'infected' someone else, here.
A little side note: Some people met before the EuroFurence at a Norwegian
fur's weekend lodge, and on pictures I saw, all of them were shown barefoot
nearly always (with one of them doing martial arts, it's no wonder, he prefers
to train barefoot outdoors as well... and the others?? Well, Tobias was with
them, and might have influenced them just a little... :))
Anyway, this longer weekend stay in Sweden was great fun, both in the respect
of barefooting and of meeting even more Furry fans...
And if you are curious, what Furry means, actually, just connect to my
main homepage... there you will find the
link to 'Jink's Li'l Page', the WWW page about my roleplay character on
two Furry-based/anthropomorphic MUCKs... Enjoy! :)
(this diary entry is quoted from my e-mail to the DSS, giving a little 'report' as to what happened concerning bare feet at that MUD party...)
Well, hoping you had a great one as well, I just want to report what my barefoot weekend was like...
I was invited to a MUDparty (me being one of those crazy guys slaying imagined monsters sometimes... in addition to fighting those real-life monsters who always threaten us with 'you must wear shoes, it's regulations...!!!). So, I packed some stuff, including my sleeping bag and something to wear - except any shoes, of course.
The fellow players from my place already know about my favourite footwear (nothing, that is) and so it was just an ordinary day. Planning to go by train from Duisburg to Saarbruecken, where the party was going to take place, we met on the centerplace in front of it. And there it began again... the looks from other people at my feet, as if they wanted to say 'those can't be BARE feet, or can they...?' While we were waiting for some friends to arrive, I suddenly noticed a young woman in a rather hippie-like outfit passing me, taking a brief look at my feet, smiling and nodding at me... as I looked down on her feet, I saw them being bare as well. I happily returned the smile... A kindred spirit. At least something, and I thought that that would be the only encounter with a fellow barefooter for the remainder of that weekend.
Oh, how glad I was, that I was proven wrong.
Arriving at our destination, we met some fellow MUDders who then picked us up by car to take us to the party place near the river Saar. A couple in black gothic type outfit - one of the MUDders and his girlfriend - constantly looked at me and she finally said, after her gaze had wandered from my wolf head tattoo on my right upper arm to my bare (toe-ringed) feet, that she didn't know what to admire more.. the tattoo or my bare feet. She said that she wouldn't dare doing it all the time but that she tried, and found it extreme fun. I couldn't lure her into taking off her shoes on the spot and try again... but, that was encouraging. The party place was just nice. As we parked the cars, we had to walk a bit, mostly over concrete, then across a gravel bed (which I found exhilarating, after six hours of sitting in the train, to first, stretch my limbs and then wake up my feet walking over it...:)). The party place was mainly lawn, and a concrete giant 'bowl' to make fire and mount a BBQ grill to it was there. It looked like it was going to be a promising evening...
Well, as the party went on, another party guest then took off his shoes and socks, explaining to me that he always walks barefoot on soft surfaces, like grass and forest floor... so, I even met a latent barefoot hiker at that occasion. Another thing that caught my attention was a couple of joggers passing us on the nearby concrete path, one of them smiling and talking to his jogging partner, running barefoot (still carrying his shoes in his hand, but still, having a try at it...). Before I could react properly and perhaps ask him why he wouldn't leave his shoes at home and jog on bare feet all the time (inlcuding giving him some tips about taping the feet properly for running purposes...) they passed. Oh, well, missed that chance. :)
Talking to some other guests, I then got into nice discussions about barefooting, and one fellow then said that he knew it must feel great, and he also accepted the health reasons behind it, but he admitted, that he would have ego problems, showing his bare feet in public... (he also referred to my outfit, of which the bare feet are a part: the hippie style stuff I prefer to wear, and he congratulated me on being so brave to face people's odd looks, sneers and giggles, as this was indeed a display of character. So, bravery and character are values connected with barefooting. Never forget that. :))
All in all, the party was great, not only from the point of view of meeting fellow MUDders, but also from a barefoot point of view.... But, with the end of the party, the barefoot part wasn't over as yet... There was still the way back to Duisburg by train. So, we boarded the train, facing a six-hour tour, having to change trains twice with almost 30 minutes to wait for the next one at each of these stops. And on the first stop, I had my so far best barefoot encounter. Changing platforms, we passed a young woman. She wore a red-and-orange patterned pair of baggy trousers, a sleeveless salmon-coloured blouse, and her hair was made into 1-inch-long dreadlocks, giving her a spiky appearance. :) As I had to stop to wait for my friends to follow, she suddenly grinned at me, almost pixie-ishly, and stepped nearer on, what I could now see as she approached me through the crowds of hectic train passengers, bare feet. I smiled back, and she stopped in front of me, looked down onto my bare feet, and then gently tapped my bare foot with hers. She looked up again, grinned her pixie grin at me, turned, and left. I just stood there, aghast, as this was the first time a fellow barefooter had greeted me in that fashion. It was a gesture of a fun-loving, tender and creative person, and I just felt great having had such an experience. Having others in tow, and not wanting to miss the train (I had the group ticket, after all...), I refrained from following her to talk to her (reluctantly!).
So, that's what I'd call the perfect final touch (literally) to a great barefoot weekend. And perhaps this might become a greeting among barefooters all over the world... a smile, a few steps towards each other, and a gentle tap from one bare foot to the other. :))
I, for one, would like that. :))
yours, 'barely' :))
Andreas Spring
Well, taking a little time off is well in order, and I decided to visit my
mother in Franken , the northern part of Bavaria... And, of course,
I went barefoot...
My mother's first reaction to seeing my rather normal outfit was "Nice..!"
... and as she saw my bare feet, she grinned, asking whether anyone ever
tossed me a dime or some coins so that I could buy shoes...
It was a jocular remark, but it might be understood as a masked discrimination...
So I grinned back, shaking my head, and telling her about the various
reactions I received from people seeing my bare feet, my motives for
barefooting, the health benefits, etc. She understood and concurred to the
health aspects, and being an open-minded and very tolerant person, she told
me that this is probably my way of walking, and she thinks it OK, as long as it
is no health risk... And I could successfully persuade her of barefooting
being beneficiary to my health.
I did pack a pair of leather mocassins for this trip, since we planned to
dine out in a somewhat fancy restaurant on my uncle's birthday... Other than
that, my personal dress code called for bare feet... And I discovered
something again: In that small town my mother lives (Gerolzhofen),
people were seeing my bare feet, but not commenting on them...
at least not in my presence. Having visited that place before, I had
noticed several people there on bare feet in summer, so it seems to
be something totally normal to at least some of the people down there...
And quite rightly so. Even thought it was only a more or less short
vacation (about two weeks...), it was a very pleasurable and relaxing
time - refreshing all of me, and especially my feet.
Well, on November 14, 1996, I was to experience the first slightly freezing
ground touching my bare soles... or vice versa, rather. Even though it is
not advised to walk barefoot in harsh frost (below -2°C), the first
frost, just about below 0°C, was absolutely delightful. Wearing my
usual hippie-style outfit (of which ankle-long skirts are now a constant
part...) I did put on extra leggings and made two cotton scarves into
makeshift ankle-warmers, thus keeping my feet bare from insteps to
toes. The coldth did evoke memories of barefoot beginnings in me, as
it felt again wonderfully tingly and tickly, frost kissing my feet and
making them come alive. The rosy-pink colour of my toes told me, that
circulation was well running and in order, and there was no numb feeling
at all.
However, with this first frost experience it becomes clear, that winter is
imminent, and that with temperatures dropping lower and lower, the time for
wearing shoes in the morning, or at least sandals, to keep the soles from
touching the frosty cold ground, might have come now... although through
the day the climate is still mild enough to walk on as nature intends me
to walk.:)
Well, my feet have now seen almost all, I guess... and even snow and melting snow/slush were amongst those things. With the first cold spell in December, around the 6th, we had a bit of snow... not much, but enough to leave some two or three inches on some spots. The ideal thing for a 'first encounter' between my barefeet, and the special feeling of that flaky and cool substance.
But there was going to be more... a few days later, it was snowing heavily all day, while the ground was not cold enough to hold it... so the snow was melting, while new snow was falling onto it, forming a bed of half-molten snow at the ground, with some fresh snow crusting the top. walking barefoot through this felt to my feet like a sherbet would have felt to my tongue... a real treat, alright. I hope to be able to barefoot longer periods of time in snow this winter, as I have felt it being a true delight (not forgetting, however, that frost can harm the bare feet, if they are not tuned to it... I will be careful, rest assured.
Well, last weekend was nice really... As I already mentioned in my last mail (Subject: A delightful day), I went to a Party to meet fellow players from the Virtual Community _Realm of Magic_, to socialize and have fun... in that Community, I bear a little Latin phrase in my title, namely [in pedibus nudis], clearly indicating my preference in footwear... and several people at the party reacted to that fact, stating (with a grin or friendly smile) "It's clear who _you_ are, alright!" (which was not as clear as one might think, since another guest took off his shoes inside the party room to walk barefoot there... :)) Actually, it was the same group of people (roughly), and then some, who also attended the MUD party last I went to last summer... (see my barefoot page, part 6 for details) However, the place where we met, a sort of youth community centre, was not quite prepared for bare feet, it seemed... Before the party, we were in the parking lot, waiting for the host, chatting... and cars passing by might have easily piled up in scrap metal, for all of the drivers turned their heads to gape at my bare feet... OK, luckily nothing happened... but there we have it... I wonder if the sh*$ police might take that as an argument to scrutinize barefooting - bare feet diverting onlookers so much that they run into objects or other people... (I do not mean to be just joking, really... I think it was in Korea, where a man, making a call with his cellular phone, holding his head low ran into a tree, headlong, causing fatal injury!! - Now imagine someone running into a lamp post, because (s)he gaped at the feet of a barefooter, in utter disbelief). The day after the party was fine as well, and back in Duisburg I was again confronted with the usual reactions: looks of disbelief, or even disgust... the occasional snicker, and taunts... One thing surprises me, though... Especially (rather nosy and loud) youths call me 'Jesus!', with a taunting tone of voice, and lots of laughter... Not only that this is merely uncreative... had I counted how often I've been called that for my being barefoot, having long hair and a beard, there would be hundreds of occasions of that. What I find surprising is the intention to taunt with that name... I am not overly religious-minded, really (although I am a baptized Protestant), and I rather adhere to the Pagan side of religion, if any, but 'Jesus' becoming an insult...? Or, at least, meant to be an insult, or taunt...? A rather disquieting trend. OK, before I trail off-topic here, one very positive barefoot encounter on Tuesday night, when I went to Burger King for dinner (totally un-Jesus-like, really - no heresy intended): I had a Whopper and a side order of Onion Rings with Salsa, and was told to have a seat and already start, they would bring the onion rings to my table... I started my dinner, and the waitress (or what they call their people there) brought the onion rings, smiled, and then noticed my bare feet, giving me a look of surprise, then a friendly smile, asking "Oh, you're _barefoot_? It must feel wonderful in a weather like this!" I smiled bayck, nodding, confirming that it is wonderful in fact in any weather as soon as temperatures are above frost level... She smiled again, and went back to her work... no mentioning of any health code phantom laws, no reference to any house policy whatsoever... and the Asst. Manager of the restaurant was sitting a few tables from me, positively able to see my slightly dirty barefeet under the table, and did not seem to care. :) I would not claim now that Burger King is a 'Bare Feet OK' restaurant (as I do not know how the conduct of the employees and managers is in England or the US, but at least they tolerate barefeet here in Germany. - Or at least, here in Duisburg, Germany. :)) wiggling my toes in delight, still enjoying the warmth of summer now having begun here with temperatures in the 70s and higher, Yours Andreas
Hi all, well, it seems like my best barefoot encounters and experience happen on weekend, especially Saturdays... :) Last weekend was no exception... I went out of the house in the morning, to spend the time from 9 to 12 in the university labs, reading mail, surfing the web, and also MUDding. Some people on the way saw my bare feet, but no comments. Neither negative nor positive... they seemed to now accept it, since the weather was rather hot, even in the morning hours. No hassles in the bakery or at the tobacconist, either. A wonderful start for a barefoot day. At university, there was hardly anyone on Saturday morning, and I had the terminal lab all to myself... just perfect. :) (Not that I mind being surrounded by other students... on the contrary... I like them gaping at my barefeet, be it in admiration, or bewilderment...:). At noon, I went into town, getting some food and other comestibles for the weekend, entering the little mall I chose, shopping, and leaving it again - looked at a lot, but again: unhassled. It might well be true what Paul supposed in his message from June 6 (Subject: Barefooters in Mountain View): > Perhaps Bill Shakeley's report about that article wherein it > was mentioned that bare feet may be coming back into style is > true. Let's hope! At least his encounters with more and more barefooters might be a sign for that. And then: summer approaching (or having arrived, rather...) lures more and more people into getting rid of their sh*$s and enjoy walking naturally... And that's also what I saw when sitting down for an early-afternoon drink (cappucino and mineral water) at an outdoor cafe (actually an ice cream parlor, but they have a nice cappucino, and you sit directly in the middle of town, able to do 'peoplespotting' there, and lt them spot you - in this case I made pretty sure that people could spot my barefeet!). A few tables away, a woman in very stylish, goth outfit stood up to go to her bicycle, and with delight, i saw her black bare soles, as she left (her friend was still shod, but at least she knew better... :)). Then: Another young woman passed me on her bicycle, barefoot - a young man, long-haired, wearing ragged jeans shorts, and a Heavy-Metal Band T-shirt (don't remember the band name, though) passed me on bare feet... I grinned, wiggled my bare toes, and was delighted to see him smile back. And then there was the group of 4 young women (all about 16 or 17) who came from a fountain after having a lot of splashy fun (since it was about 87F, and they needed some refreshment), holding their shoes in hand, and walking barefoot... I admit, it was not a whole barefoot crowd, really, but considering that normally I am about the only barefoot person in town (even on summer days), it was rather much. The Sunday was a bit more refreshing, since we had almost constant rain showers and the odd lightning and rolling of thunder... (the remainder of the terrible storms that had raged over the Netherlands and were then making their way over the Rhine in weaker form...) I very much enjoyed feeling the cool water splasahing around my bare feet and calves, and even though it was still hot and humid, I felt refreshed... I got more looks of disbelief than on Saturday, but still, no one hassled me for my barefeet. Seems like the good wishes of fellow DSSers do indeed work... Thanks, Marrq (who wrote on June 6): > Glad to hear that you made it thru the get-together without any > hassle, and hoping that the remainder of your days (and of > everyone else's) are barefoot-hassle-free forever... I sincerely hope so too... (and one note: The get-together was hassle-free, because I am sort of known to be barefoot among the MUDders I met, and since a lot of them are also into Live_Action RolePlaying and the like, they know about strangely-costumed people... so neither my outfit, nor my barefeet were a surprise to them... I got really nice comments on my toerings, too... :))) Well, it might be that from now on I might be posting regular weekend-reports, as more and more barefoot encounters are occuring with summer approaching on swift - and I bet, bare - feet. :) wiggling his toes with delight and until next time, Andreas
And again, the weekend on barefeet has been fine and perfect...
save for one little thing I encountered... - later more of that.
First of all, it is now really summer here, with temperatures
going up to 30C and even beyond... (scratching almost the 90F
mark, for all those non-centigrade ppl out there. :)) So, I de-
cided, that the best place to be at this weekend was to be near
some water to jump into, when desired. We have some lakes here,
really nicely situated with lots of greenery - trees and bushes
- surrounding them. I would not call it a natural forest... it
is an artificially created area, after all, but fine enough. So,
on Friday morning I went near that place by bus (no hassling
from the driver, but then, I never been hassled by officials on
public transport over here, and it seems, that they have no de-
sire whatsoever to quote any phantom laws on being barefoot...
Just occasionally, I get asked by drivers if my feet weren't
cold (on cooler or rainy days...) or if I am not afraid of glass
shards and other nasties... so, it's more or less the usual ques-
tions I'm confronted with there, if any.
After that bus ride, there was a ten-minute walk (approx.) through
that 'forest', which has mostly hard-packed dirt paths with the
odd bits of small gravel here and there... fine enough, as it got
me to wake up from walking that surface... in some places, there
even were patches of moist, slightly muddy soil, which I enjoyed
walking through greatly... I did not even think about packing any-
thing like slippers, sandals or flip-flops... and later on the
way I realized that maybe I should have... since the way to my
favourite spot on the shores of that lake led me now over some
concrete, into which rough gravel had been embedded - with edges
standing up, no way for the gravel bits to move, or a soft surface
underneath them... this was for the first time in a longer period
a real unpleasant barefoot feeling I was encountering now... I de-
cided for the next time when I go there, to pack a pair of canvas
slippers with a thin but sturdy plastic/hard rubber sole (the sort
you wear for kung-fu training sometimes - I don't do martial arts,
but those shoes are OK, when it comes to wearing them for a short
time...). But, as soon as I arrived at the spot I wanted to go, I
found everything nice and perfect again... and so I got out of my
clothes (completely, as I am a nude swimmer), and spent a great
morning there... by lunch, I went back to town to shop, and get
to the university to get mails and other things done. Shopping was
(as usual) problem-free... it seems that in Germany, people tend
to stare at your barefeet rather than being ready to quote any
sort of phantom laws... and quite frankly, I do not care at all
about being stared at. :)
Saturday and Sunday were then really perfect. I took the aforemen-
tioned slippers with me to get over with those nasty parts of the
track, and it worked fine. - In a post some time ago, nasty and
small bits of gravel or glass pricking our soles at times were re-
ferred to as 'Klingons'... well, to stay within that imagery, the
nasty parts of that trail were more like the Borg!
Anyway... I spent the whole Saturday and Sunday (from about 8.30
am to 6.00 pm) happily naked at that lake - and even had a nice
encounter there, when on Saturday I got out of the water, being
greeted by two women - part of a little group who was taking a walk
and then felt hot, yearning for refreshment... - who greeted me,
smiles, and then asked about how the water was, and if the entrance
into the lake there wasn't too stony, and all... I told them, that
the place was just fine, and no problems with stones... so they
smiled, and promptly got out of their clothes (no bathing suits or
anything... they just got nude as well), and went in. After they
had taken their swim, they thanked me, saying that it was me setting
the example for their nude swimming.. otherwise they might not have
dared to get nude themselves... (That lake is no clothing-optional
or nude area.. but it is not forbidden there, either...). I smiled,
thanked them, and said that perhaps all that people need to dare
doing something that feels good - like nude swimming, or walking
barefoot, for that matter - once in a while... and that it is easier
to do so, when they have someone as a sort of role model, showing
them that there is nothing to it, really. They nodded and smiled,
and then one of them also said 'If people don't like what you do,
they can always look away... that goes for nude swimming, as well
as bare feet, or being different generally...' Well... since the
rest of the little group (who did not dare to get nude and swim)
sort of pressed to walk on, they got dressed again, and left, wish-
ing me all the best... well, I don't know if I influenced them into
trying walking barefoot as well... but I think they might even try
that. :)
It surely feels nice being a role model. :)
The rest of the weekend (I spent the late afternoon/early evenings
in street cafes, and the late evenings in open air pubs) was nice
as well... and apart from seeing people kicking their sandals/shoes
off under the tables in abundance, I only saw 2 or 3 other 'genuine'
barefooters (meaning: no shoes on them, dirty soles, happy face... :)
which means that even with a generally barefoot-friendly (at least
non-hostile) atmosphere, people have not realized that it is more
pleasant to do that... even though advertizing and fashion tell
them now in abundance as well (newest example: a tobacco/cigarette
company has now the slogan 'The Power of Now', and depict a barefoot
hippie couple on their large ad posters, which are propped up on
giant stands at the roadside... So, this is at least a way to show
the public, that the colorful and hip outfit plus bare feet is get-
ting fashionable again... (although I, like others, do not believe
in the benefits of fashion as a reason to go barefoot... it can help
it, at least, but as a sole reason it is too weak, and might lead
to problems, if ppl do it just for being cool and trendy, rather
than for health benefits or truly spiritual reason... - the trend
faction might for instance walk 'wrongly' - slamming the heel down
first, and things like that - or not watch the trail ahead... and
then might end up cursing on being barefoot, and thus spoiling the
generally barefoot-friendly mood... worst case, I think, but never-
theless, possible...)
Anyway, I'm trailing off the weekend topic here, and before I do
that any further, I rather close (BTW, the nude swimming fun went
on on Monday morning as well... as I now have decided to spend at
least an hour in the morning at that lake spot and have a nude
swim before starting whatever I have to do... :))
Hoping you had a nice barefoot (and/or ccompletely bare) weekend
as well,
Andreas
(he who swims without clothes - and without shame, too)
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
.oooO Oooo. "Set your feet free, and your mind will follow!"
( ) ( ) Andreas Spring Dirty Sole Society Member
\ ( ) / barefoot_spring@hotmail.com
\_) (_/ http://members.tripod.com/~a_spring/
Walk this way! http://privat.schlund.de/SpringAndreas/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Please note: the signature above is taken from the original mail back in those days... My web page URL and mail address have changed slightly since then.
Peter Rupprecht wrote:
>
> Hello to all,
>
> I wonder, does barefooting have a certain contagious quality?
>
> Among my various activities I serve on the board of our regional church
> camp.
[very positive and delightful experience snipped for brevity reasons :)]
> So I wonder, does barefooting have a contagious quality? If so,
> then perhaps our best strategy for public barefooting acceptance
> may simply involve the setting of our example. Let's do the math
> on this. Three people positively influenced in one week by one DSS
> member. Multiply that by 170 DSS members over the course of a year...
Might be the way to go, really... about the question of it being 'conta-
gious' as you asked... (*smile* I would rather use the term 'positively
influential'... doesn't sound that 'dangerous' to the ears of those who
connotate 'contagious' with disease... and we are anything but ill,
really... :)):
It takes one to set an example and the 'pack effect' (one deciding which
way to go and the rest follows...) will kick in, I guess. This goes
especially to pursuing such pleasures like being barefoot, which in most
cases has been indoctrinated into the average people's heads as being 'bad'
and 'unhealthy' - I was able to spot that a few times myself, including the
absolutely amusing reactions of onlookers, who - first scorning me for
my strange looks (incl. barefeet) - fell utterly silent, when seeing a
young woman across the street stopping, looking at my bare feet,
smiling, removing her shoes, and walking on on her way on bare feet, too. :)
Another example of that 'pack effect' I have often seen at the lake
where I normally swim - which I normally (and most naturally) do in the nude.
As it is a nice and tranquil spot, where one is safe from lurkers, but
no 'official' nude swimming area, I tend to always go there rather early to
secure a good spot for me (OK, a bit egoist I am there... *grin*), and
I have often seen others coming to that lake seeing me, greeting me in
a normal and friendly manner, then looking again, seeing that I am sky-
clad, and doing the same (sometimes even though they did have swimwear...)
The most delightful example was the two women on a walk, who had no
swimwear with them, but yearned for a swim on a 90F+ warm day... were
undecided whether to dare it or not, then saw me, grinned, greeted me, got nude
and went into the water... they then thanked me afterwards, saying 'without
you setting the example we wouldn't have dared!'
I think that applies for barefooting as well (OK, it is not as big a
step as getting nude is - but then, judging the looks on some people's
faces I get, they could not be more baffled if I were totally naked in
public *giggle*). As soon as you set an example, and at least one per-
son follows it, a whole (positive) avalanche can set in... if it
doesn't, well at least then the people see that one is not alone in pursuing
pedal nudity *smile*.
> Peter Rupprecht
Andreas Spring ('BarefootAndy' on CyberZine WebChat. :))
(barefooting: keeping in touch with the world - being happily
nude while clothed. - hey, at least it's my definition! *grin* :))