Since arriving here, we've noticed some cute, funky modes of dress especially with young people now that everyone is not bundled up. I envy their freedom to dress like that. It would look downright silly on a woman of my age.

But yesterday we saw something that gave us both pause. A young couple (late 20's or early 30's) in the grocery store with their two kidlets. The man had a mess of nasty looking dreadlocks. Ok. The kidlets were allowed to run willy-nilly in our tiny, narrow aisled store. Not that ok, but whatever.

However, the Mom! She had on a peasant skirt to her ankles which was a throwback to the 60's and quite cute and was............barefoot(ed?). Not just barefoot, but the bottom of her feet were black from dirt. Every step she took exposed the soles of her feet and it made you want to gag. It looked like a couple of days worth of filth. The temp outside was hovering around 90F, so I hope she didn't walk in the parking lot barefooted. The rest of the family had on shoes.

Now, I grew up in the hot South. I went barefoot(ed?) most of the time as a child when playing outside and, as an adult, I went (and still do) barefoot at home. I actually hate shoes, lol. But I never, EVER, stepped foot in a store without shoes. Even if it was just flip-flops, I had something on my feet. Mostly for my own protection but also as a matter of decorum.

*rant over

How does one walk around barefoot outside without getting dirt on one's feet?

If she was walking around barefoot in a paved parking lot, it's no surprise her feet were black.

Interesting little factoid: In India - at least in Bangalore - it's required patients and visitors go barefoot in dentist and doctor offices and in hospitals.

There are a lot of folks in Southern BC who are hold-overs and descendants of American hippies and draft dodgers. When I was travelling in my 20's I met many groups of them from Banff to Sombrio Beach.

The better question, about an ADULT, is WHY would someone walk around barefoot outside and why would they not wear shoes when going into public places? At a grocery store no less. Whatever happened to "No shoes (or shirt), no service"? Sorry, but that's just rude imo.

*edited to add: It also puts the store in danger of liability. What if someone had broken a jar or something? Even if a breakage had been cleaned up, there's always a chance of some slivers of glass being missed. Some common sense required here....

But then again, it's Golden. We also saw a 2 yr old boy running around naked from the waist down in the middle of town on the main drag near a water fountain feature. I thought it was cute. He's a toddler.

In S. Carolina or many other US states, that Mom would have been reported and hauled off to jail.

Better get used to barefoot Canucks. Bare bums, too.
We kinda don't give a rip.