I do not go barefoot in public (other than beaches, parks, ect) but around the home I do. I dislike shoes. Up in New England I always went barefoot. Now I am down here in Florida and I am scared to just go out in the yard barefoot. I am scared of the critters, especially since my friend helpfully told me I live in an area with a lot of scorpions and snakes. We won't even go into what I think about the crappy grass here. Am I nuts?
I don't know very much about Florida, but I do know that there are plenty of other people who say they go barefoot there a lot, so I'd imagine they feel pretty safe. What you have to do is decide whether you'd rather have to watch where you step and face your fear of scorpions and snakes (if that's what's really bothering you), or have to wear shoes on the time when you'd really rather be barefoot. Most people have to make that sort of decision - although the fear in question is the one of being stared at and thought of as a weirdo. For me I got to the point long ago when I decided that wearing shoes was the less favourable option and so I overcame the social fear. I might (as most people do) have gone the other way and overcame the dislike of shoes while remaining worried about the social pressure. But I didn't and joined the minority of public barefooters. You just have to make a choice one way or the other. If you choose to wear shoes and you still have the decision nagging away at you, then you should try choosing to go barefoot. You might find that it's not so scary after all. It's best to know what it's like, and then you can always go back to wearing shoes afterwards if it turns out you're not comfortable after all.
take into account the fact that unless you wear robust closed shoes , flip-flops , many mocassins and sandals won't protect you from scorpion stings- i assume that there must be quite large ones there, where i live you can only find small, black scorpions under rocks, and they are nightly bug hunters too so it is hard to get a scorpion sting, that btw is not even a lethal or dangerous one. with snakes, in order to get a real protection you'll need boots to protect your ankles when into thick, high grass. so unless you are willing to go around heavily shod going barefoot or with light footwear does not make a big difference.
Where I live, snakes and scorpions are just some of the facts of life. I have seen them literally on my front and/or back porch on numerous occasions. The things to remember are: 1. Scorpions are nocturnal. If you are worried about them, just make sure the area is well-lit when you go out at night, and keep your eyes open. 2. Snakes don't do much of anything, anytime, and only a few are aggressive to humans. If you do run across one, it'll be much more likely to want to get away from you than bite you. And, like jagerhans said, most average footwear is no protection from a snake bite, anyway. Go barefoot. It's better.
Thanks. I did not know that scorpions were nocturnal, that makes me feel better. I usually avoid the grass at night because we have stepped on the little frogs that are all over the place here. I hate hurting them! The snakes are not so scary, I assume I would see one of them before I stepped on it. I have been practicing not being so scared. I have been going from the house to the kids pool barefoot and I have been out on the pavement barefoot as well. Oh ps...I took my sandles off inside the DMV office today. The cool feel of tile under my feet made the wait a little more relaxing
if this may be helpful to your peace of mind, the best friend of the barefooter since the dawn of human history is a crook or stick . it helps you to rout snakes before your feet , to test the ground for hidden pits in the grass that may conceal dangerous spikes, it is useful to relieve the pressure on feet after a long march on sharp rocks, and to mantain balance walking over difficult terrains . it is helpful for the shod and a blessing for the barefoot hiker, and a general purpose tool. i carry one i made myself out of a young pine, it has a lead head at the top and a metal spike in the end and is finished with many coats of lineseed oil. it was useful to me for defense against big aggressive loose dogs in the fields and i bet that would be heavy enough to crush a female boar's head with a single blow if necessary provided that one has the nerve to stand its charge.
here i am, the great thread destroyer. wherever i post my shit threads holler and die. call me Attila. i think it's better if i quit.
