I never gave it much thought, did you?

Bare feet, supposed to be a health hazard in stores, an illegal way to drive cars, impossible in extreme locations and weather, and a good way to pick up diseases from the ground, is an idea that has gained up a growing number of supporters. Mama Lou has been barefoot whenever possible for years.

People would ask me about it. I'd say, "No, she's not pregnant."

I'll give you a link to the website for bare feet in just a minute, but first I want to tell you my own experiences. I went bare footed as a kid growing up in Yankeevania. "People in the south," we were told, "get pellagra from going unshod." In our area, the winter ground would freeze to a depth of at least three feet, sufficient to kill the bugs that caused such diseases.

I haven't done any research on this matter at all. I only recently ran across the web site, and it piqued my curiosity, since nudists always recommend wearing shoes. I remember going to camp in California's desert country, my whole family unshod while we wandered across the sands.

Yeah, it got hot, especially since we all were tender-footed. The concrete around the pool got a whole lot hotter. We spent most of our time under the olive trees. We spent a lot more time getting to the place than we ever got to spend at it, and later decided that maybe wet rags and the Pacific Ocean were more our speed.

The kids complained all the while we spent at the camp, but loved the ocean. That made it our destination of choice from then on, and we still went barefoot across the sand at the beaches, which we found to be wetter and much cooler.

The health reasons for going barefoot are as unapparent and unobvious as they are for bodily nudity, so it's not something anybody is apt to give much thought. The site has doctor's claims about hazards of wearing shoes, about stinky feet, the pleasures of barefootedness, and training and exercising the feet to keep them in good shape. Pay them a visit, especially if you have kids or grandchildren. The link is below.