No Shoes

NO SHOES

As a teenager, sixteen or so, I was called BF. I had considerably large feet, and BF stood for Big feet. My feet were “too big for da bed.” Whenever I could take my shoes off, I did. I still do sixty-five years later.

I went horseback riding bare foot, and I played in the manure pile bare foot. I received a good case of ring worm but, that was a small price to pay for foot freedom.

In Hawaii, I never wore water shoes and received a coral “bite.”

Walking in the rain barefooted is so very sensual, and you don’t get your shoes wet. Some Washington neophytes and tender footed Alaskans might be better off with shoes.

Do I think of germs? Heck no. I was born with bare feet, and I will meet God with bare feet. Monkeys don’t wear shoes—why should I?

Connie Campbell, a longtime resident of Seattle and Edmonds, attended writing classes with Ariele for many years at the Greenwood Senior Center, doing them on ZOOM since the pandemic. Though she passed in June 2022, she left behind several stories and poems as gifts to those of us who still are working at being alive. She was a great example of how to live…and to die…in a way that blessed those around her.  

SHARING STORIES is a weekly column for and about the 50 plus crowd living in the Puget Sound region. Send your stories and photos to ariele@comcast.net. Tell local or personal stories; discuss concerns around aging and other issues; share solutions, good luck, and reasons to celebrate; poems are fine too. Pieces may be edited or excerpted. We reserve the right to select among pieces. Photos are always a plus and a one-sentence bio is requested (where you live, maybe age or career, retired status, etc.).

SHARING STORIES is featured on www.northwestprimetime.com, the website for Northwest Prime Time, a monthly publication for baby boomers, seniors, retirees, and those contemplating retirement. For more information, call 206-824-8600 or visit www.northwestprimetime.com. To find other SHARING STORIES articles on this website type "sharing stories" or a writer’s name into the search function above.