His wife must love him. I mean: reggae music playing in the background at all times! Well: "almost." Who knows what percentage of her time is free of reggae and whether her preferred music genre is ever the score to their time together?
By the way, I think bare feet track less filth indoors than shod feet. You're far more likely to know you've got something on your feet and to quickly get it off than you are to know there's something on your shoes. Ideally, we'd all take our shoes off when we go indoors, but that's not happening in shops and restaurants and other places of business.
I remember when I was a teenager and sought the freedom to go barefoot at school. I still remember the name of the teacher — was he a science teacher? — who exclaimed "You'll get ringworm!"
ADDED: Wikipedia has an article, "Barefoot." One subheading is "Inquisition and witch trials":
During the era of the Catholic Inquisition it was a conviction that women allegedly practicing witchcraft had their ability to use their "sinister powers" largely impaired if they were barefoot. Arrested women first had their footwear taken away and it was ensured that they remained barefoot at all times. Due to interpretations of the Malleus Maleficarum it was believed that in case an accused witch was not strictly kept with bare feet she could cast a spell on people by only looking at them. As the prosecutors wanted to avoid any risks, it was ensured that the bare feet of the women remained visible throughout. During questioning or in court, the accused women often had to stand within the boundaries of a consecrated spot with the soles of their bare feet constantly being in contact with the sanctified section of the ground.... To further ensure safety they were often led in walking backwards for their court sessions. They were not allowed to turn around until their bare feet were visibly placed within the bounded spot....
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I go with Crocs for comfort, except they're no good on uneven ground because you feel all the stones.
"His wife must love him. I mean: reggae music playing in the background at all times."
Hahaha! That was my first thought, too.
I love reggae music ... for about 10 minutes, and then I have to flee whatever Key West establishment I'm in.
He sounds like one of those hippie Leftists who revels in the self-image that he's smarter and different from the rest of the straights. Break loose, maaaaan!
I like going barefoot, competent with chop sticks and a reggae fan. Mr DeRuvo is taking it too far to be quirky and garner some attention. Pick one thing to be stand out.
Barefoot has definite disadvantages. It's currently rainy outside, so when we come in, I wipe the dog's feet and take off my shoes. Barefoot in the workshop just isn't prudent. Dropping a tool is too likely.
Eccentrics are the seasoning in the large dish of humanity.
Ringworm used to be a big problem in the Old South, and still is in Africa. Other hazards, Animal Poop, sharp objects, and rocks.
So how does he navigate the rain,snow and ice when he's barefoot? Why skip over that important detail? I suppose you just get used to it. Whenever I read Civil war history, I'm still amazed that Confederate soldiers were able to march with barefeet in the cold and snow of Northern VA and East Tennessee.
Some people ask visitors to remove shoes upon entry into a house. If constantly barefoot...those feet will have plenty of embedded dirt and grit. I guess he carries wetnaps or finds a hose????
Bare feet can become 'animalistic' without grooming -- check out dog paws, horse hooves, etc.
I worked at a US broadcast network where a well-known television writer, a big slovenly guy, would come in to meetings barefoot. Large slabs of filthy paws with nasty malformed nails would trod off the elevator and slap their way through the open plan to the meeting room. He was a mess. You couldn’t give your full attention to his pitch when trying not to look at those feet. Then he crossed his legs….that’s when the trouble started.
- Krumhorn
I liked him better until I heard the reggae requirement. Then he seemed intolerable. I wear running shoes or Brogues.
"Back at home, Ms. Ecker, a preschool teacher, prepared lunch, lightly grilling bagels in a cast iron pan, slicing avocados, tossing a salad."
That does it. I quit.
Going Barefooted around the house is good for lower calf to foot neuropathy. Add to that a tea tree oil and shay butter cream applied at night . And for the shoe wearing days try wearing merino wool socks. The only other effective neuropathy treatment that I have discovered is an Rx called Gabapentin. Everything else is the usual snake oil type sale of fakes.
'As the prosecutors wanted to avoid any risks, it was ensured that the bare feet of the women remained visible throughout.'
And now we know the origins of foot fetishism : )
Lay off de lamb’s bread, mon!
How does meaningless crap like this get a story in the NYT?
Don’t you think the “no shoes no shirt no service” culture was 100% about excluding the poor and downtrodden?
Particularly the post civil war black community?
And even in today’s enlightened world shoes serve as a status symbol of social position.
How much crime can be linked to having/not having a particular pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes?
Pilates Instructor? That is not a job.
Bare feet would give me Popsicle Toes (a far better song, btw, than anything Reggae)
We're told he has other quirks: He prefers to use chopsticks and "He needs reggae music to play in the background at almost all times."
There are large parts of this planet where these are not quirks.
One summer I had a job that allowed me to go shoeless. My feet got very tough but not tough enough to prevent a large and deep cut from a piece of broken glass at the beach -- where it is, of course, normal to be barefoot.
Remaining barefoot prevented healing so it was back to sandals.
I've since grown up.
Flips flops, anyone? They're the answer for people with bunions.
The armchair psychologist in me says this guy didn't get enough attention as a child.
All three "quirky" habits are indications of a neurodivergent brain. He's on the spectrum somewhere between ADHD and autism, so why doesn't he get diagnosed so he can explain to people why he goes barefoot? Wouldn't that solve a lot of problems? He would be an ambassador for neurodivergent people and it could be good advertising for his photography business as creativity is one of the strengths of neurodivergent people.
There is a young lady from Norway, Angelina Jordan, who performs barefoot. You may not have heard of her, but you will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gQljxeaNuM
"How does meaningless crap like this get a story in the NYT?"
I thought this was high substance after reading yesterday in the Washington Post, "The Bidens ordered the same dish at a restaurant. Who does that?"
Michael Franks!?!?… that wimpy voice… slowly I turn…
That was so Madison of you, MadisonMan!
Shoes?! We have shoes. I blame Al Bundy.
I found this out when I moved to the east coast from Hawai'i, where I took (and passed) my first driving test barefoot. People in the east get pretty uptight about this. I still regret that I learned to stop shedding my slippas at the door.* And you're especially right (" I think bare feet track less filth indoors than shod feet.") if the wearer leaves their shoes at the door.
I really need to go back to that.
*We always used to say that you knew it was a good party by the amount of footwear at the door.
"He's on the spectrum somewhere between ADHD and autism, so why doesn't he get diagnosed so he can explain to people why he goes barefoot?"
The article says: "“I clearly have one foot on the spectrum,” he said earlier (though he clarified that he has never undergone an autism evaluation)."
Is there a good reason why you should get a diagnosis if you are independent and self-supporting and not unhappy with the kind of person you are? What difference does it make if you're on one side of a line or the other?
'There is a young lady from Norway, Angelina Jordan, who performs barefoot. You may not have heard of her, but you will.'
You think that's impressive?
There once was a girl from Nantucket...
As a pre-teen in south Florida, I went anywhere and everywhere barefoot. I still go barefoot whenever possible for reasons of comfort, but my feet aren't as tough as they ounce were and I don't have some weird religious fealty to seeing my toes that prevents me from putting on shoes where shoes are called for.
This guy is nuts. He might make it work, but I bet it's because his wife does all the shopping.
Ann Althouse said...Is there a good reason why you should get a diagnosis...
I assumed the idea is that the AODA would require businesses to accommodate him if he gets a diagnosis.
As kids on Cape Cod we considered it a matter of principle not to wear shoes from the end of school until Labor Day, except for special occasions, baseball, and church.
But most restaurants and stores will have to kick you out because the health authorities will shut them down.
Looking at the last picture, his feet are filthy. I take off my shoes when I enter my (or anyone's) house. What does he do?
In other words he is an entitled a_____e and as such should be shunned and scorned.
I'm just glad his problem was bunions and not hemorrhoids.
I am sympathetic to Mr. DeRuvo. I feel happier barefoot than in shoes and often wear very minimal shoes. I used to do a lot of barefoot running--once/week for a few years and the reactions were highly varied. Most people either didn't notice or pretended not to notice, this is New England after all. Very young children would notice and ask their parent, "Why that boy doesn't have to wear shoes"? Some people would out-and-out yell at me to put on some shoes. Remember, I'm outside. How is this their business?
One might ask, why not still run without shoes? The answer, I've become older and less good at running. I can still run barefoot, but it slows me down and I have greater soreness afterwards. This is in contrast to my heyday, when barefoot runs were faster than their shod versions. Maybe, (too good to lookup) this is where "shoddy" comes from--the slow and ungraceful running you get from having shoes on your feet.
Final note on Mr. DeRuvo: Did you get a look at his feet? That is one long, odd-looking, big toe. It makes me wonder--did his foot problems come from his unorthodox feet or did his feet become odd looking from years without shoes?
“Is there a good reason why you should get a diagnosis if you are independent and self-supporting and not unhappy with the kind of person you are? What difference does it make if you're on one side of a line or the other?“
I think this comment shows your truest spirit, Althouse.
It’s a good way to think.
I-and-I am a little offended by the disrespect for the cool-runnin' riddims in praise of Jah! Rastafari in this thread.
Not "ringworm". That is fungal. It was the passage of "hookworm" larvae through the skin of the soles, with subsequent chronic intestinal blood loss that was the problem,particularly in the south.
Not "ringworm". That is a fungal disease. It was the passage of "hookworm" larvae through the skin of the soles with subsequent chronic intestinal blood loss that was a problem, particularly in the south.
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