Wednesday, August 12, 2009

I'll keep my bare feet to myself, thank you

I bought a pair of flip-flops on Tuesday evening. I hate sandals of any kind and I especially hate flip-flops. But I bought them because I'm going to the beach for a few days next week and I didn't want to get sand in my sneakers. Don't expect to see me wearing these shoes anywhere but the beach, or possibly when I take out the trash at home.

I don't understand people who wear flip-flops everywhere in the summer. I live in New York. The streets are filthy year-round but even more so in the summer. I know it's hot but I don't want to think about having that kind of grime anywhere near my bare feet. I've seen people wearing flip-flops at baseball games and on the subway and I shudder to think what kind of bacteria they've picked up during their day. (Gothamist enlightened us on that last point yesterday.) Suffice it to say that there are some nasty infections awaiting anyone wearing flip-flops with open cuts on their feet.

It's even worse when I see women wearing them in the office. I may be alone in thinking that flip-flops are not proper work footwear, but the double standard makes it worse. If I flipped and flopped my way around the office all day, my boss would send me down to Century 21 to buy a real pair of shoes. But it's fine for women to flap-flap-flap around the hallways in the same shoes I bought for $10. I don't want to hear about the difference between "beach" shoes and "fashion" sandals; if it makes that noise, it doesn't belong in the office.

I know I'm in the minority, and I have sometimes held extreme positions only to abandon them in the face of immense opposition. (See my past blog posts about not being an "Apple" guy and avoiding the iPod for examples.) But I don't want to ever be a sandals guy. I can say with complete and utter certainty that you will never see me in a pair of "mandals" or any other kind of exposed footwear. The world doesn't need to see my bare feet even if it's 100 degrees outside. I will wear real shoes on the hottest days and be proud of it.

1 comment:

Just Me said...

those nasty germs like your shoes too--the same shoes most people wear right into the house...and into the bedroom. and then those same people walk around barefoot later. and guess where all those germs end up? the same place if you were wearing flip flips. not to mention how pets track all those germs everywhere they go to, including (probably) your bed and your pillow (maybe). better to leave your shoes at the door as they do in many asian cultures and skip the freakout over flip flips.