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May 30, 2010 - Barefoot through an enchanted forest (it seems...)
Even though I already had been in my usual favourite park for a barefoot stroll on Saturday, I didn't want to forfeit the Sunday stroll, even though the weather was rather unstable and not the most inviting one for barefooting... all through the day rain had been falling and the temperature was only slightly above 10°C. A quite cool gusty wind was blowing, accompanying sometimes heavy showers. Still, I was able to pick a time that looked like inbetween showers to take a barefoot walk down to the park and to enjoy the positive and beautiful side effect of a rainy day: cool and wet ground underfoot. It felt like a walk on a wet beach, as my bare soles touched the paths in the park, laid out in sand and small pebbles, and the puddles on the paths provided some extra delight:
Sitting down on a bench after enjoying the "beachy" feeling of the paths I had a cigarette, while watching the sky changing its appearance swiftly, as clouds in different hues of grey were fleeting by.
At some point, it even looked like the clouds breaking up, and so I stood up and began a stroll over the lawns, enjoying and cherishing the feeling of cool and wet grass beneath my naked soles.
Since the sun had decided to peek out from between the threatening grey clouds, the park was lit up nicely in the late afternoon sunlight, and the air felt a lot warmer almost instantly. I continued my stroll and decided to take closer looks at some parts of the park, which now almost looked like parts of an enchanted forest - such as the back part of the duck pond, which was hidden behind some shrubbery:
In another place, there was a tree - or a few trees rooting together, rather - that looked like a home for a tribe of fairies... and the center, where the trunks converged, could well have been their central festival ground:
I felt a little envious for not being one of those fairies, since the view directly up into the canopy above that center was marvellous indeed:
From that tree, I turned around, and into a corner on the western end of the park, where large pines were growing... the ground there felt almost like true forest floor and the smell was like that, too. Moist soil, pine needles and cones... and another true delight for bare soles to walk on.
From there, it was again a short stroll over grass
On the way back for a second round through the western corner of the park - clearly my favourite - I passed the duck pond again, and this time the sunlight gave it a truly enchanted atmosphere (also partly due to the artifacts it created on my cheap cell phone camera:
But the camera was still good enough to create something that could also become a typically kitsch picture postcard:
"Greetings from Raffelbergpark" Actually, the place where I took the pictures of the pond was quite near the corner where I did my skyclad relaxation and meditation after dark... and a small copse of trees was right next to it, too, with a little entrance inside, where I found yet another enchanted place:
Inside that little copse, the ground looked and felt like you would expect it from a real forest, where leaves had fallen on bare earth for years, forming a soft and thick layer of dark brown and black humus soil. Since it already felt nice and soft to the touch of my bare feet, and the inside of that copse was well-hidden from outside views, I decided to get nude, and sit down on that warm and soft skin of Mother Earth. Once again, I felt truly communing with Her, as I sat down on the ground, cross-legged, Indian-style, and took deep breaths to relax and unfocus my eyes to meditate a little on the spots of sunlight filtered through the leaves ahead. When propping my left foot up onto my right thigh, I noticed how richly earth-colored my bare sole was from walking on that beautiful surface... I felt very happy to have found that place of peace and bliss.
After about half an hour in that little world of mine, I stood up, put on my kaftan and took another few steps on that wonderfully soft and rich surface, feeling my bare feet sink in an inch or two in some spots and observing happily that they had become very Earthcolored all over, too... I took a wistful parting glance at the magic light still filtering through the green of leaves, and left the copse to reluctantly walk out of the park and back home...
On walking out, I bid that little copse goodbye, promising to return as soon as possible and make that my new personal Mother Nature nude meditation spot.
All in all, it was a wonderful Sunday afternoon in the park - especially with
some discoveries made. And, the timing as far as weather was concerned was just
perfect, since it started to rain only as I was a few paces away from my doorstep.
However, I would have liked to fee some rain in the park, too, and then having the
opportunity to take a nude rainbath there... that's a special delight, too.
Saturday at last... the beginning of the usual barefoot weekend. And two days of nothing worn on my feet but foot jewelry and sunlight. Well, considering the weather forecast and the light rain that has begun just as I am typing this, one day of sunlight, at least. It was to be a usual Saturday, with a little trip into town to do some shopping and to have the usual at my now sort of favourite Italian street café... I didn't take a picture of the cappuccino and soda this time - it becomes a bit redundant, I thought. But before I went there, I had to amend a little mishap happening to me the day before - Friday, that is: my earphones broke down on me, and so I had to get a replacement set. This time I bought a pair that can be hung around the neck with the MP3 player attached to it. That will prevent cable damage which occurs, when you carry the player in your pocket, and the earphones cable gets bent and crumpled. On the positive part, that set of earphones is the same quality as the previous one, and cheaper, too. I then decided that it might be the time to upgrade the player itself, too (an old 1 GB Philips) and so I was happy to see a sales offer of a nice-priced 4 GB model of the same brand. And so, I went home with a new MP3 player, as well. No comment from the personnel of that Saturn megastore in the posh new "Forum" mall in the center of Duisburg - I even got one guy to help me in finding out whether the player I chose had an internal rechargeable battery, charged via USB or whether I'd have to use AAA size rechargeable batteries like with the old model. The only comment I've heard was a slightly ironic-sounding "Great shoes..." from a teenage girl. I decided not to grace her with a reply, although the fitting answer "Thanks... my parents made them for me" was on the tip of my tongue. Well, not quite home yet, since from there on the other shopping part began. I went by tram into the center of Mülheim, the town where I live, and went first to what has become my usual café on sunny Saturdays: the "Eiscafé Galleria" right in front of the central mall in Mülheim, incidentally called "Forum" as well. After enjoying my usual hot and cold drinks and typing away - as usual, too - on my mini laptop (a new little writing project called "All of Me", which will appear as a PDF file on my personal web page, as soon as it is finished), I went for the little regular Saturday shopping tour, which was first to a drug store to get some foot care products (a moisturizing cream called "Fuß-Butter" - cute name) and a few candles... I just love candle light at home in the evening. Next stop: the supermarket, for the usual grocery shopping. No comments, just the occasional occurance of "The Look"® and not much to report on the sight of other barefooters in the town center... there were none. On the tram ride home, however, I spotted one young woman walking barefoot on the sidewalk, carrying her sandals in her hand. At least one person who bared her soles together with me today. After returning home and unpacking the stuff I bought and stowing it away in the appropriate places, I felt that the barefoot day couldn't be over as yet... it was getting close to 6 pm, and the sun was still out - even though the sky was looking a little hazy, making it appear like frosted glass. So, I decided to get into my favourite hippie outfit: skirt and purple Ganesha-print t-shirt, and packed some equipment to take a walk in my usual park. This time, I also packed some incense stick to add some ambience. It was also a prime opportunity to try out the new electronic equipment I bought earlier today. And it turned out that the earphones I chose were just perfect. I took a barefoot stroll over the park lawn, listening again to my favourite music - the Avatar original score, and revisited the places of my nude night stroll which I took on Whitsun:
But before that, I went to my old friend, the young oak, to sit beneath it, and soak up the remnants of sunlight:
Like on Whitsun, I took off my t-shirt, baring my belly to the world at large and pulled up my skirt to a minimum of covering over my maleness, so that people wouldn't suspect me being nude underneath (which I was, really, but didn't want to tell the world... yet, that is). I sat there, looking again very much like some reclining Buddha, lit two Nag Champa incense sticks, listened to some ambient/chill-out music and typed away a little on the aforementioned piece of writing. Even with the sun slowly disappearing behing clouds that were beginning to become grey, threatening with rain to come, I did not feel cold... and so, after about an hour of sitting at the base of that oak, I decided to take a little stroll from that spot to the bench where I had sat down almost a week ago when taking that smoke before I got fully naked. I kept my t-shirt off, and walked over there barefoot and shirtless.
Well, lucky me that there are no "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" signs in that park.
After sitting there for a while, I noticed that the park was totally deserted. Only after returning home, I found a reason for that: a pre-World Cup soccer match between Germany and Hungary had begun while I was in the park. But since I was alone there, and no one to be seen, I decided that this was the perfect time to repeat my nude stroll in broad daylight. So, I took off my skirt, put it in my bag and went nude from the bench over the path to the western corner of the park, and then crossing that to revisit the place of my previous skyclad night relaxation:
That is the corner where I rested my bare behind a few nights ago, and looked out into the dark. The view from that corner looks like this:
Oh, yes, I know that there are those people you often see posting in web forums: "pictures, or it didn't happen!"... Well, I do have evidence of my daylight public nudity - as you can see, I am a rather shameless person:
Well, one word about "shamelessness": I don't feel that nudity itself is something to be ashamed of. It's just the most natural state of being. Therefore, I don't feel ashamed at all to be nude, to tell others about it and to show it to the world here, too. After taking a fifteen-minute stroll barefoot all over I went back to the bench, got dressed again, and sat down for another smoke before leaving the park... and quite in time, too, since only five minutes after I sat down and lit up, a jogger came into the park. Had he arrived a few minutes earlier, he would have spotted me in all my barefoot glory. I chuckled inwardly, enjoying my cigarette
All in all, a wonderful late afternoon in the park, making me and my hippie feet very happy.
Saturday With getting out of the office on Friday shortly after 6 pm, it was the start of a long barefoot weekend with the addition of a Monday, again courtesy of Christian tradition – Whitsun, celebrating the descent of the holy spirit to Earth... that's what is depicted on some church window by that dove basked in light. Just as it the case with Easter for me, I am not really touched by that, since I renounced Christian faith. However, I do cherish the occasion of having an extra day off to leave shoes at home and be 100 % barefoot, before returning to the part-time barefooting of the days when I have to work. Even though it's just an extra day off, my little barefoot pixie is singing with joy, wiggling her little elven toes, just as I wiggle mine with delight. And with the weather forecast issued for this long weekend, it is a delight, for sure. These first paragraphs are written yet again while enjoying the spring sun in a street café, with my usual combination of cappuccino and soda:
Of course, people are again giving me „The Look“® for my barefooting as well as for the mismatch of a barefoot hippie guy typing away on his mini laptop. With warm temperatures, there are lots of other people wearing summerly footwear – flip-flops and open sandals. However, I have yet to spot a fellow barefooter. On the subway, I saw one particularly cute set of bare toes in white flip-flops, adourned with a golden toe ring, belonging to a stunningly beautiful young African woman. One look of benign interest at my outfit and my bare feet together with a slight smile came from another young blond woman wearing cut-off jeans shorts with a flowing hippie-style blouse, her wearing very thin sandals and anklets... pity that she wasn't barefoot, since her overall outfit was really shouting for baring her feet fully, too. After about an hour of basking in the sunlight, wiggling my bare toes, listening to Ali Project and enjoying my beverages, it was off to the mall to do some barefoot grocery shopping. As usual, that went by unhassled, even though there were, again and as usual, various examples of „The Look“® present there, as well. Nothing more to report about my way home... no comments, no other barefooters around. I hope that I can report a higher number than 0 on the barefooters counter on Sunday, as I am going to visit a medieval-themed festival taking place in our town... since it's only a ten-minute ride by subway there, I might meet some people I know there. And considering the still very nice weather conditions predicted for tomorrow as well, there is a quite high chance of spotting a few pairs of bare feet there.
On a side note, this Saturday started in an involuntarily invigorating way,
since for some reason I couldn't find out the hot water was turned off,
leaving me with taking a cold shower in the morning. Somehow, this was
reminescent of the times about ten years ago, when I was living in that
alternative commune without tap water, and enjoying to take what we called
rain baths by stepping outside nude in rain showers... Even though we didn't
have some of the creature comforts of modern society, it was an enjoyable
life and I will always cherish that time as being the time of ultimate barefoot
and naturist freedom (among other things). On warm days, we also celebrated that,
such as on Beltane. And since I was out in the sun skyclad quite often, I had a
nicely dark skin tone, too.
Sunday Sunday began just as Saturday had ended: bright and sunny... as I embarked on my little trip to Broich Castle (Schloß Broich – an old medieval castle, built in the 9th century, which helped Mülheim to remain safe of the Vikings – they rampaged Duisburg, but Broich Castle kept them out...) I was looking at a bright blue sky, without any clouds, and the sun shining. It promised to be a very nice summerly day, to be sure.On the ten-minute tram ride there I noticed quite a few people who were most likely to visit the „Pfingst-Spectaculum Broich“ as well, as the medieval-themed market there is called – I saw even one guy changing in the tram from his black t-shirt to a saffron-colored shirt with a wine-red vest combo... so that was one of the people trying to dress in style... I was just in my usual hippie-ish outfit, with grey cargo pants rolled up to below the knee, bare feet with the usual foot jewelry and a black t-shirt with a white Ganesha pictogram on it. A small part of the market was located inside the castle's inner courtyard, but the larger part was taking place in the adjacent park, providing a very barefoot-friendly environment, since the paths there were either paved or laid out in sand with very small gravel and lots of grass to walk on. In comparison to the park location of the market/festival in Gelsenkirchen I visited a few weeks ago, I'd measure this one on a 1 to 10 scale of barefoot-friendliness with a clear 10 – the other location would get a 7. The castle itself was providing a nice scenic backdrop for the market, indeed:
I was able to count plenty of other barefooters there – mostly among the partcipants dressed in medieval-style garb... although there are sometimes style breaches, such as this flip-flop warrior:
But there were also barefooters, including some of the salespeople at the market stands:
Since this market was in the town I live in, I wasn't surprised to be greeted by co-workers, whom I hadn't really expected to meet before Tuesday – including the head of our IT department, who's sort of a Goth person. After spending a few hours there, and 4 pints of mead-laced beer later, I decided to head home, with a nice beer buzz, which I didn't want to grow into something nasty, since I drank my last pint in bright sunlight... and beer with mead is a potent mix, indeed. I went away from the castle grounds, turned my steps towards a tram stop nearby, and encountered one barefooter outside the market, as a young woman riding her mountain bike barefoot whizzed past me. She looked straight ahead, not at me, a happy smile on her face, listening to some music via MP3 player, it seemed. Her smile and stance as she was riding her bike reminded me strongly of the happy smile the female lead character Neytiri wore in Avatar when riding Seze, her ikran. Waiting for the tram to arrive, I sat down on a bench with the prey I brought from the market at my happy bare feet:
The clay bottle contains another potent mix known as „Drachenglut“ (dragon embers) made from mead with cherry and elderberry. And it's not only a potent but very yummy mix, since I already had a taste by filling up my half-pint drinking horn with it. Just in case you're wondering, what's in that box: I found me a beautiful gothic barefoot pixie on her toadstool to take home with me:
Monday Absolutely no "manic Monday", but rather an extra Sunday - that's what waking up on this wonderfully bright and sunny morning told me, while my new barefoot pixie standing near my computer (see above) smiles at me... The first part started like the usual Sunday does - getting the laundry done and while doing so, shaving my head. After all, I want to give that barefoot Buddhist impression again, when embarking on my stroll in the park later on, as that is the usual thing I normally do on a Sunday. And, since this day feels like one, I shall treat it as such. Well, about that head-shaving thing: that "Buddhist impression" was a joke. Of course, people tend to believe I must be a Buddhist or Hare Krishna member, walking barefoot, wearing a flowing multi-colored skirt, head shaved bald and wearing a t-shirt with a picture of a Hindu God on it... I love playing with such images and defying mainstream's expectations. The foremost reason of shaving my head is: cooling. In the warm seasons, my scalp provides some extra evaporation space for sweat, when the hair is gone. I've mentioned that on this page before, but I know that the world-wide web tends to have a short-term memory where texts are concerned, so it's OK to repeat that, I guess. The barefoot park stroll
With bright sunshine being my accomplice, I set out to my favourite park to take that usual barefoot walk to feel some natural soil and grass beneath my soles. Since it had been dry and sunny over the last week, this also meant a prime opportunity to find me a spot and sit in the grass, preferably under a tree to have its green canopy above, while being in touch with Mother Earth below.
I had brought a little bag of equipment with me to spend some quality time there – including of course my hippie hi-tech gadgets: cell phone/camera, MP3 player and mini laptop. And, in addition to feeling the warm and soft grass and earth for energizing purposes, I also packed a small bottle of caffeinated stuff – incidentally my favourite brand of cola (largely unknown outside Germany, I'm sure, since it's a German brand).
After a short walk through the grass, I found a nice chestnut tree to sit under,
directly at its base. Since the wind was picking up and large fluffy clouds
starting to build high towers in the sky, a change of weather was foreshadowed,
and the wind had also provided a carpet of chestnut blossoms lying beneath that
tree... and I sat down there, appearing to the mainstream people in the park
walking by or sitting on nearby benches to be some modern reclining Buddha –
at least until I got out my laptop to begin typing this... all the time
while I was sitting there, the wind (a pleasantly warm breeze) kept shaking
the canopy, sending down more blossoms to rain onto the ground – and onto me,
as well. There could be worse things raining down on me, for sure – therefore
I took it as a bit of Mother Nature's mischief. It felt as if she were in a
playful mood... or perhaps it was a bunch of mischievous fairies, seeing me
sitting beneath their tree and saying „Look!! A hippie! Let's throw flowers
at him!“. Since I was listening to some ambient music from my MP3 player,
I couldn't hear any fairy giggles... but it might still be true, nonetheless.
And just as I had written this, a good handful of blossoms rained down on me. Another note on listening to music: just before I chose to listen to an ambient album by Proton Kinoun, I did my usual listening to the Avatar soundtrack – the usual favourite tracks 5 to 7 – and this time read the corresponding parts from the Activist Survival Guide which I had brought with me... And as I came to the final part of track 7 - Jake's first flight - when the prayer song to Eywa is heard, I felt a tingle run up and down my spine, sitting in the grass with my back resting against the tree trunk. Communing with Mother Earth, indeed.
After getting pelted with some more blossoms, I looked around and found me a
different tree to sit beneath, right in the sun to soak up a bit of sunlight,
too, before heading home again... I figured the one being just the right spot
for that – a young oak. As I sat down at the base of that tree, a funny
thing happened: the wind had suddenly died down, and the shower of blossoms
beneath the chestnut tree had stopped. It might be true, that there were
some mischievous fairies in that tree who now decided that the fun was gone
along with that hippie... In the distance, near the duck pond in the park I
could see a woman taking off her clothes to lie down in the grass wearing a
bikini... so, I decided to tune up the reclining Buddha impression by taking
off my t-shirt, and bare my trademark Ganesha belly to the world at large.
The warm breeze together with the bright sunlight was a true delight. A bit later, another young woman chose a spot on the lawn to take off her clothes and lie down in her bikini, too... So the two women and me were building a large sunbathing triangle... Even though that park wasn't a naturist sunbathing site, I felt as close to it as possible, since I wore my skirt the most comfortable way – without underwear, as usual. I mean, what is the point in wearing a skirt if it's not done barefoot to the waist? The only thing missing to make it a perfect site would be a small lake to skinny-dip - and if that were there, I bet people would begin sunbathing nude, too.
After returning home and entering my apartment, the first thing for me to do was to get barefoot all over (naked, that is), step into the shower and have a stream of cool water flow over my sweating body - not only to make up for the missing lake, but also to rinse off the odd caterpillar I might have overlooked. All in all, a nice barefoot day-out and an almost perfect happy ending for a barefoot Whitsun weekend. Why only almost...? After coming home, I felt that it was something like a dessert fit for a king, with ice cream, amarena cherries, chocolate and caramel sauce, a nice crown of whipped cream... only the cherry on top was missing. I felt that there was something more I could do to make it a perfect barefoot Whitsun, sort of the triumphant final chord of a barefoot symphony.
I felt, that this was the ideal way to get in touch with Mother Earth, and so I sat there,
relaxing, breathing, almost meditating for half an hour, before I decided to tune up the
boldness level a notch - or rather to tune it up to max volume, really. I put the kaftan into
my shoulder bag, careful to pack it in so that it could be pulled out fast and pulled over my
body even faster... I almost felt like a parachutist packing his gear. I then stood up, still
naked, brushing earth and leaves from my bare behind and started walking towards the western
end of the park, where I had been today in broad daylight. Since I hadn't heard any hints of
other human beings in the park, I decided it would be safe enough to take a nude stroll.
And as it turned out, it was... I went to the place where I had the idea of lying down nude
in the grass, outstretched, and feeling Mother Earth's dewy kiss on my naked skin and did
just that. I lied down on my back, arms stretched sideways, legs spread and took several deep,
deep breaths, looking up into the now cloudy sky, with a few stars winking between the clouds.
It was magnificent, feeling truly like Mother Earth's son, being held in Her loving arms. Now that truly was the missing cherry on top and the true happy ending of a barefoot Whitsun weekend.
This is sort of a condensed entry, containing what happened over the last week... Everyday barefooting has become more or less of a routine thing, happening before and after work – and running errands like regular grocery shopping – which all happen unhassled, but with the usual occurances of „The Look“®.
Even though last week offered me an opportunity to do some extra barefooting on Thursday, May 13, that was cut short by yet another of those demands of my employer's client who again wished to have a detailed month statistic, which confined me to working at the computer all day... and also a good part of last Sunday, too. However, since I didn't wish to forfeit my barefoot Sunday stroll, I decided to change my schedule slightly and took that walk after sunset, around 10.15 pm. It was a different experience, since the park I usually visit is not lit at night... With temperatures around 12°C and a cloudy sky, I set out to mostly feel my way around that venue. Even though it isn't truly dark in an urban environment, the rest of light in the park – partly shining through the trees from the adjacent road – was rather meager. I was able to tell the sandy paths from the darker grass, but orientation as far as the surfaces were concerned was clearly my bare soles' job. Since dew had already fallen, the grass felt cool and moist underfoot, and it was a quite special delight to feel Mother Nature's dewy kiss on my toes. Since I couldn't quite see, whether there were other people around, I turned off my MP3 player which I normally take with me to accompany my barefooting with the right soundtrack. On arriving in the back part of the park, I could see a thin crescent moon hanging over the western horizon, with Venus shining to its right, slightly below. This sight was framed at the bottom by a row of trees, or at this time, a row of dark tree-shaped shadows. Standing there, looking into the sky and feeling the cool dew beneath my feet, I pondered briefly on shedding my clothes and lying down skyclad, outstretched, receivign Mother Nature's dewy kiss all over my body. However, that notion was cut short as well – this time not by work life's requirements, but by a female voice hissing from somewhere in the dark „There's someone there!“ and a nervous male chuckle answering her from the same place. It seems that a couple had chosen that particular place and time for their personal celebration of the rites of spring. I smiled and slowly walked away from the place, silently wishing them fun, whatever they were planning to do. After this invigorating as well as relaxing walk, I left the park and turned my barefoot steps homeward to get ready for the short night before another of those „manic Mondays“, marking the usual weekly re-entry into „the machine“. One slightly funny thing happening was the spotting of a second male barefooter, just after leaving the tram, walking the last few meters to my apartment complex... people waiting at the red traffic light were gaping at a man wearing dark grey cargo pants, a loose-fitting white tank top, bare feet (without shoes in sight) and carrying a six-pack of bottled beer. He looked slightly disheveled, unshaved and with rumpled hair, just as if he had come out of bed only a few minutes ago. And then I came, walking barefoot over the ped crossing, directly towards that other barefooter... double-takes were the movement of that moment. The fun thing is, even though I didn't know that man, I saw him walking ahead of me, entering just the apartment house I live in. I saw him again the morning after (a slightly cool one, around 10°C) wearing a normal outfit, including coat and shoes – although his disheveled hair style and bad shaving hadn't changed. So, just an occasional barefooter, then.
Encounters with shod people and them asking questions happened, too.
For instance, two young women, dressed not like the typical fashion
victims, but rather sporting a bit of emo style entered the bus I
rode on my way home from the office. As usual, I was barefoot,
equipped with my „leave-me-alone“-shields: MP3 player and a manga to
read. One of them stepped up to me seat, smiled shyly, motioning at
me to take my earphones out and then asked „Excuse me, what is it you're
reading...?“ I showed her the cover, and she said „Ah, we know that one...“
and from the back, her accomplice asked „It's a Kaori Yuki, right?“ -
Well, those two know their manga, alright, since it was indeed Kaori
Yuki's best-known work, Angel Sanctuary (volume 6). So, this time
it weren't my bare feet triggering curiosity, but my choice of reading.
Weather conditions: mostly cloudy, no rain imminent, 16°C, almost no wind...
Since some of the people were dressed in their Sunday best, it never seems to occur to them, that walking barefoot in such weather could be a real delight, especially feeling slightly moist and cool soil and grass beneath their soles. I pity them, for they did miss a treat. At least those people's dogs were able to enjoy it... and some of them passing me were quite intrigued by my bare feet and a few came closer to take a whiff of my bare toes. Dogs love feet (especially the male dogs...). Even though it wasn't a brightly sunny day, it was clear that Mother Nature had again turned up the volume as far as blossoms and foliage are concerned. The last few days had been rainy, prompting the trees to sprout even more leaves, and so some (like the copper beech seen below) were presenting a very nice dress of leaves. Also, the grass was spotted with more daisies and dandelion than the weeks before, giving me the opportunity to shoot some „hippie's delight“ pictures: flowers and bare feet.
Since I had embarked on my little stroll at the usual time for Sunday coffee and cake, I had something coffee-ish with me... as I stated in some posts on HipForums, for instance, caffeine fuels my motor – and I do worship the Coffee Goddess.
So, I had some bottled cold cappuccino milk with me, containing 80-100 milligrams of pure caffeine (that equals 2 cups of espresso). So, today's walk was energizing for my soles, my soul and the body as a whole...
Of course, as I sat down on a bench to enjoy my bottle of chilled cappuccino milk, have a smoke and type these very words on my laptop, I became again the target of „The Look“® of people who seemingly couldn't grasp the combination of a barefoot guy looking like some incarnation of Buddha – I shaved my head today, too - typing away on his little piece of hi-tech. To round up a nice and energizing Sunday, I went home to then watch the DVD of my current favourite movie, Avatar, enjoying the view of some of my newest barefoot heroines and heroes.
As far as barefooting is concerned, I could take the previous day as a blueprint and apply it to this day... pre- and after-office barefooting were the same, as were the weather conditions, making it again both relaxing and refreshing to walk barefoot on cool, wet ground and splashing through pleasantly cool puddles. The only difference was in footwear, since representatives of our client regularly visit our office on Fridays, and that means for me: in cool weather conditions (below 10°C) to wear closed shoes...
The encounter I had today was a little different from the one described below:
Me (grinning): "Great observation skills..." Well, as far as reactions to barefoot people are concerned, this surely was a positively different one. The world isn't just full of grumpy old geezers, after all. Since I wasn't wearing the baggier style pants or a Ganesha-printed shirt as the day before, but a regular blue jeans and polo sweater outfit, she didn't get the idea to ask about me being a member of a cult or possible religious reasons... such questions (if someone asks them) only arise the more hippie I look in terms of my outfit.
Actually, it was a rather regular day, with no special plans ahead but the usual pre- and after-office barefooting and a more or less relaxed office day. At least I did as I planned and began my late shift an hour later in order to get some more sleep than the nights before and be less edgy... and it worked. Even though I had to do some extra statistics, which was presented to me the day before, just on leaving, I felt less stressed by it, was in a better mood and wiggled my toes quite relaxed under my desk (where I kicked off my flip-flops, of course).
However, there was one specialty about this otherwise usual work day which makes it
noteworthy to me:
He looked at me, a mixture of disbelief and disgust on his face, and I could see his lips move, uttering the word „Penner!“ while looking at me (he made sure not to utter it audibly but under his breath...). That word is German for „bum“ or „homeless“, and he made it his business to shoot his annoying version of „The Look“® at me three times in total – and at the third time I retaliated by flipping him the bird! And quite rightly so, I might add. OK, there is truth in saying that you should respect your elders for knowledge and wisdom – if they do behave worthy of that respect. However, just assuming something from appearance (which in my case was hippie-esque, admittedly, but nevertheless clean) and behaving like an uneducated, loud-mouthed and rude old geezer is something not worthy of respect, IMO. I kind of hoped to encounter him again after finishing my latte and cigarette and went to the bus stop, so that I might have educated him a bit about who I am... I would have enjoyed it greatly to say to him: „You're the one who called me 'bum' a few minutes ago, right? Well, here's something for you to think about: I am currently on my way to the office where I work on a full-time basis, at least 40 hours a week, sometimes more than that... I do have a nice little apartment, I own two computers, one of which I carry with me in my bag right now – and which has a value of about 300 euros... I work for my monthly salary and I pay taxes and also my employee's share into the pension scheme, out of which your old-age pension is paid. So, next time, inform yourself before calling other people names, try to behave, follow the rules of common courtesy – which old geezers like you complain about not being obeyed by 'young people' nowadays - and be nice to one of your sponsors!“ Oh, I would have loved to see his face after that. And since I work in a direct and dialogue marketing firm, I would have known how to talk on without letting him interrupt me. Alas, he had evaded me, though, so that I could not apply my power of words to him. But if I ever see that guy again, and he calls me a bum again... oh, beware a shower of words coming from above, old man! Well, literally, since he was considerably smaller than me. Other than that, it was a delightful day for barefooting, especially after work, since it had begun to rain about noon, and most people were sad about it, saying „Ugh, it's cold... it's raining..“ etc., while I was thinking „Cool! Puddles to splash my bare feet in and cool wet ground to walk on and cool off after the office day...“ And so it was - a real delight to walk on and to arrive at home relaxed and refreshed.
After another long office day (10.5 hours today, 11.5 yesterday) it was off to do some urban barefooting in bright spring sun. One nice thing about spring are blossoms, even the fallen ones, like these, spread over the sidewalk and providing a special barefooting surface:
With three stops planned, I went first to the slightly freaky grow and head shop I usually visit to replenish my supply of incense sticks. As usual, no hassle about my bare feet (in fact, the owner has praised me for being the different kind of person I am). Then, over the little ped zone shopping street of Mülheim (which is only a little longer than the one in my old home town) to a tobacconist to get me my favourite cigarettes as well as some Zippo lighter fluid – the only two things where I am adamant about using particular brands instead of no-name products. No cheap gasoline will be used to fill up my Zippo lighter! Never ever! Of course, „The Look“® was my usual companion, since again people seemingly cannot comprehend someone walking barefoot willingly, voluntarily and on purpose. Even in May, I can see people still wearing rather thick fall and winter jackets and closed-toe shoes. Of course, sneers and giggles by teenage fashion victims did occur, too, as usual. The third stop was at my usual supermarket. No hassles from the personnel there, either. After shopping I decided to have a cigarette outside the mall, and stood in a place quite near some drunkards (at loeast very low-income people, perhaps even homeless...). And, as I experienced last year, one of those guys just couldn't stop himself, stepped up to me and asked „Hey, are you OK walking around without shoes...?“ with a rather heavy tongue... as I could smell, the bottled beer he was holding was hardly the first he had downed so far. Since he talked loud enough to be heard over the music of my MP3 player, I removed one earphone, replied „yes.“ and put it back into my ear again. But, alas, he wasn't happy with a simple reply. He asked – again loud enough for all the world to hear - „are you only barefoot in summer?“ to which I replied – again after removing the earplug - „I'm barefoot the whole year, as long as there's no frost“ and put the earplug back, this time also making it clear by body language, that for me, the conversation was over – I turned away from him. The day had started as one of those spring days with coldfooting opprtunities in the morning... the temperature was only 1°C as I departed for the office at around 6.30 am, and enjoyed a very refreshing experience with toes aglow:
After getting a good night's sleep which I had missed the night before, this Saturday was again a barefoot day to visit the bi-weekly role-playing group again. Since we have re-started our SF campaign I was again able to get our butts scorched a little - well, actually, I wasn't too good on my d100 roll on my hyperspace pilot skill roll, which ended in jumping to hyperspace a split second too late to evade the effect of the explosion of an Andrium-enriched missile we fired on an enemy vessel... the stern of our ship got a little beating from that. But, we survived... again. And I encountered the tomcat again, that gave me that disapproving look a few weeks ago for walking past "his" window in my bare feet while he had to stay inside (as I wrote in my journal)... well, he was a bit more outside yesterday, sitting on a balcony this time, but still not as free on his bare paws as I was on mine, therefore not looking quite happy:
Another bare-pawed animal encountered was as usual our game master's dog, named Chewie (for the sounds he quite often makes... German shepherds seem to have some Wookie DNA... they "talk" a lot):
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