Christmas Time's A-Coming

“Christmas time’s a-coming – and I know I’m going home”

-      -  Patty Loveless, “Christmas Time’s A-Coming” (video after post)

Even though we don’t live in a winter climate, our little hometown of Carmel Valley takes Christmas time pretty seriously.  For proof, you need look no further than this weekend’s annual festivities that never fail to draw virtually every man, woman, and child in town – partly due to the fact that almost everyone is involved in some capacity.

And since this is the weekend, we’ll use this as a starting point for an extended Random Shots of Beauty, which may also be rightly called Random Shots of Christmas, or even Random Shots of Life in a Small Town.

The fun gets underway with the approach of a helicopter to the Valley’s abandoned old airstrip …

… that carries special passengers from the North Pole.

It’s Santa Claus and Mrs Claus, escorted by a fireman.  It’s worth noting that in Carmel Valley, firemen are right up there with Santa in terms of admiration from local kids – which is exactly as it should be.

The Advantages of Being a Girl Scout in Carmel Valley, Part 1: the local troop gets first dibs at greeting Santa after touchdown.  It’s a great advantage to have …

… because as soon as they’re done, Santa gets the complete rock star treatment.

In case you doubted that Santa’s arrival is a big deal here: See that guy in the Hawaiian shirt?  He’s a United States Congressman.

After the Fly-In, our one-street village hosts a Christmas parade that tells you as much about the town as it does about Christmas …

… beginning with another star turn by the local fire department in an old-school fire truck.

Advantages of Being a Girl Scout in Carmel Valley, Part 2: the local Brownies get another featured role in the big day.

Then again, the local dirt-bike kids also get their spot in the show …

… as do a lot of farm equipment, usually towing a load of kids.

In an old ranch community, you know you’ll see a lot of horses …

... and in our part of California, this is the only kind of snowman most of us will ever see.  Also, did I mention the tractors?

Of course, the nicest tractor is reserved for the star of the show, fresh off his helicopter landing, along with some lucky kids who get to share the ride with him.

I don’t know whether it’s the impending joy of the holiday season, or the yearly reminder of what a special place this is to live – but our annual Christmas parade is one of the many things that makes Carmel Valley feel like home.

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And continuing last weekend’s reference to our family’s favorite Christmas songs is this one from a Patty Loveless album that – seeing as how I never considered myself a huge bluegrass fan - took me completely by surprise when it gradually became one of my most-loved collections a few years ago.

“Christmas Time’s A-Coming” by Patty Loveless (click to play):

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Random Shots of Beauty; Last Month of the Year

With only a few weekends left to post Random Shots of Beauty, I figured it was time to go back into the photo folders and find some of the pics I decided to put away for a rainy day.  And since it’s been raining for almost five straight days around Monterey County, this seemed like a perfect time to open up the rainy day file.

We’ll start with this one from a remote area of Carmel Valley:

A somewhat nondescript oak tree that my son and I encountered on a summertime bike ride; it’s not remarkably different than any other of the thousands of oak trees around here.  It was only upon closer inspection that my son said, “Hey – what do you see on that tree trunk?”

To our eyes, it kind of looked like the tree was looking back at us.  It was very Wizard of Oz-ish.

Continuing on the “slightly surreal” theme is this shot from my 11-year-old daughter’s favorite trail running area in Point Lobos State Reserve:

It’s not very often that you encounter a whale skeleton on your evening run.  At least not that I'm aware of.

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One final note from the weekend: my wife and I had the privilege of seeing the Blind Boys of Alabama in concert on Friday night – and if there’s any better way to kick off the Christmas season, I’d be amazed.  They played a set of their gospel classics, plus some gems from their wonderful holiday record, including this tune that may be our family’s unanimous selection for favorite holiday song of all time.

Blind Boys of Alabama, “Last Month of the Year” (click to play):

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Cyber Monday Shopping Roundup; Random Shots of Beauty

I’ve been blitzed with Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions over the past week – and since it’s been a while since I’ve done any serious affiliate promotion, I figured I’d pass some of them along here.  Before we get to them, however, let’s roll through our customary Random Shots of Beauty, with a double-size edition in honor of the double-sized weekend.

The first is from a Wednesday afternoon run with my daughter, on one of the rare occasions I’ve had to run in daylight recently:

A grove of massive eucalyptus trees near a historic homestead site in Garland Ranch Regional Park in Carmel Valley.  The other is a bit further away …

… and up into the Santa Cruz Mountains, the site of our family’s annual Christmas tree hunt on the day after Thanksgiving, when most of the rest of America is out shopping.  We do this every single year, and not one time have I ever wished I was in a shopping mall instead.

However, on the subject of shopping, let’s get to the offers.  Rather than go into much detail on any of these, just understand that I’ve used all of the products and/or vendors in question, and I have no hesitation in recommending them to you as well.  Click any of the banners to jump to the sales.

First up is REI, your best one-stop shop for pretty much everything outdoor related.  They’re offering all winter gear at a 30% discount through November 26^th.

Next is Massey’s Outfitters, who sell the complete Patagonia catalog as well as an extensive collection of Vibram FiveFingers.  They’ve got a ton of their products discounted (including all Marmot gear), and are offering a $20 gift card with a $100 purchase.

The next banner ad is from GoLite, who offer pretty killer savings all year long, and this week is no exception.  Their holiday promotion is a free beanie with any purchase.

One more banner – not necessarily because it’s huge savings, but because it’s one of my favorite companies.  Patagonia is offering free shipping on all orders through December 9^th.

Finally, a couple sales that I don’t have banner ads for: VIVOBAREFOOT has a sweet coupon code for 40% off your order through November 28 – just enter VIVOBF at checkout.  SKORA has a “first-come, best-served” type of coupon code where you can save 25, 50, or possibly even 100% of your purchase price – click here for details. 

Does that give you enough to shop for?  One other note is that Amazon.com will have some great Cyber Monday deals as well – so if you’re looking for something that isn’t on this list, chances are you’ll find it there.

Regular programming will resume later in the week – until then, happy shopping!

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Random Shots of Fall Beauty

Traditional fall colors are somewhat difficult to find in Monterey County, but if you do enough running around, eventually some of them will cross your path.  Accordingly, this weekend’s post features some color-themed Random Shots of Beauty.

The first is from Salinas; I have no idea what kind of tree this is (any arborists out there who want to educate me, feel free) – all I know is that it is extremely red.

In my home town of Carmel Valley, many of the colors aren’t from trees …

… but from vineyards.  Unlike the red tree earlier, these particular plants are very well known to me; I drive past them every day on my way to and from work, and mark the seasons by their changing shapes and colors.  I also indulge in their ultimate product (in this case, from one of the best wineries in the world) or similar Monterey County offerings quite a bit during the holiday season – which happens to start this week. 

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CLIF Chocolate Cherry BLOK Contest; CLIF Holiday Bar Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

“Three is a magic number, yes it is ... “

-      - From Schoolhouse Rock

This is the third straight weekend that I’m offering up a new CLIF Bar contest, and I’m also announcing three winners of last week’s CLIF holiday bar contest – so we'll ahead and have some fun with the theme of three on this one.  But first, let’s get to this weekend’s Random Shot of Beauty:

As seen in Carmel Valley, three days before Halloween.  Incidentally, if it weren’t for decorations like this, it would be hard to tell that it’s fall around here lately with the 80-degree weekend we just enjoyed.  Have I mentioned that I love living in California?

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Now it's time to announce the three winners of last week’s CLIF Bar holiday flavor giveaway contest.  Grimzeak, Southern Tim, and MittenKim: e-mail me your contact info – you’ve won!  Thanks to everyone who entered, and remember to get your holiday flavors while they last, so you don’t have to wait until 2013.

(P.S.  Remember how many holiday flavors there are?  Three, of course!)

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So it’s time for the new contest, which features a brand new CLIF product.

Shortly before our family trip to Zion, we received a sampler box that contained three (yes, really) packs of CLIF’s brand new Chocolate Cherry flavor BLOKS.  In the midst of our three days of hiking, each of my three kids got to sample the new flavor – and the reviews were overwhelmingly positive.

CLIF offers this same flavor in their SHOT gel, but it’s somewhat unique among energy chews, which generally seems dominated by strictly fruit flavors.  Evidently it’s hard to mimic the taste of chocolate in this category of energy food, but CLIF does a pretty good job of it with the Chocolate Cherry BLOKS. 

The chocolate flavor is subtle but unmistakable; I thought of it like someone had poured chocolate syrup on CLIF’s black cherry BLOK flavor.  However, my 11-year-old daughter came up with an even better description: “It tastes like an ice cream sundae.” 

With the addition of this new flavor, CLIF now has nine (or, stated another way, three times three) BLOK flavors to choose from.  Like other BLOKS, the Chocolate Cherry flavor is made with 95 percent organic ingredients, with a balance of carbohydrates and electrolytes for quick energy and proper muscle function during athletic activity.  This variety will give you a caffeine boost as well, as each pack features 50mg worth, which is the equivalent of one shot of coffee.

Sound interesting?  The new BLOKS are now available in stores, but a few of my readers will get to try a sampler pack for themselves.  And in case you didn’t guess … the number of winners will be three.  However, I’m making it slightly more challenging than just leaving a comment.  This time, you have to name something that comes in threes, or name a group of three things that go together: for example, the past, present and future, or faith and hope and charity, or the heart and brain and body … you get the idea.  If your item(s) are the same as one that’s already listed, your entry doesn’t count.

And if those three examples I just mentioned seem obscure, it’s because I didn’t really make them up: they’re from one of my favorite childhood songs that has become something of a pop culture classic.  That Schoolhouse Rock video is below, and I’ll announce the winners of this contest on – you guessed it, November 3!

Special thanks to CLIF Bar for sponsoring this contest, and good luck to everybody!

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“Three Is A Magic Number” from Schoolhouse Rock (click to play):

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Random Shots of Beauty; Farewell PCTR

Before getting to the subjects at hand, let’s take care of business and announce our CLIF Kit’s Organic winners.   Rachel, Michael Helton, and Kelly Covert: e-mail me your contact info – you’ve won!  And if anyone is curious, Rachel was entry number 1 on the comment list – proving that every number has an equal chance of winning.

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Since I’ve been making up for lost training miles this week, I figured I’d make up for some neglected Random Shots of Beauty by throwing in a couple extras this week – starting with …

The view looking west from Snively’s Ridge atop Carmel Valley, at approximately mile 11 of this morning’s run.  Then moving on to …

Tall sentinels at the bottom of Redwood Canyon in Garland Park at mile 19.  And finally …

A view looking back from the top of another climb up the adjacent ridge line a couple of hours later, during a run that ended up being nearly 30 miles.  In the words of George Costanza, I’m back, baby!

Much of this morning’s run featured trails that were used for my first-ever ultramarathon, the Carmel Valley 50K that was put on by Pacific Coast Trail Runs almost 10 years ago.   Longtime readers may also recall that in the wake of my initial Western States disappointment, I ended up doing my first-ever 100-miler at a PCTR event as well.  I’ve entered several of their races over the years, and like many Northern Californians, the company had a special place in my heart.

That’s why I was sorry to see the official announcement this week that Pacific Coast Trail Runs has gone out of business.  Even though the news isn’t surprising to anyone familiar with the situation – and even though the financial implications involving current registrants remain quite messy – it’s a sad milestone for anyone who grew up on PCTR ultras.

I suppose the good news for me is that none of my upcoming races are PCTR events – but one of them will be a new event that is hosted by the company that moved into the void left by PCTR.  I hope to have more to say about that company and the race in the near future; in the meantime, I need to stay focused on training my tail off. 

Leadville happens in 10 weeks.  Game on.

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Bear Naked Trail Mix Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

"What a cold and rainy day -
Where on Earth is the sun hid away?"
- 10,000 Maniacs, "Like the Weather" (video after post)


Keeping things short and sweet on a cold and rainy California weekend - but we do have a giveaway to wrap up, so here goes ... *~*~*Tracy and gregoryboytos, e-mail me your contact info - you've won the Bear Naked trail mix giveaway! Thanks to everyone else who entered, and to Bear Naked for sponsoring the contest.

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Today's Random Shot of Beauty also doubles as a not-so-random reason why my family wasn't practicing on our slackline today:

The ridge line looking across Carmel Valley from my house - where the color of the sky as far as we could see was cold gray, bringing a steady downpour of much needed rain as well as a welcome reason to enjoy a lazy day indoors.

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My girlfriend got me into this band when we were dating, and they became one of the first "bands with a conscience" that I fell really hard for back in the late 80s and early 90s. Combine that with the fact that the girlfriend became my wife, and there will always be a soft spot in my heart for Natalie Merchant and company.

10,000 Maniacs, "Like the Weather" (click to play):





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CLIF Builder's Bar Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

Keeping this very brief this evening so I can plunge right into a longer post on tap for tomorrow night. We’ll start with the winners of this week’s CLIF Builder’s Bar contest: TimS, Josh (Of All), and Joanne (Run for Endurance): e-mail me your contact info – you’re the winners!

Thanks very much to everyone else who entered, and special thanks as always to CLIF Bar for sponsoring the giveaway. I’ve got a few more contests on deck in the near future, so stay tuned for details – beginning with a pretty cool one on Tuesday night.

On to our Random Shot of Beauty:

Carmel Valley as seen from a ridgeline in Garland Park at daybreak.

We’ve had some unseasonably cold mornings here in Monterey County this week, which always makes it a bit harder to crawl out of bed in the dark to keep my mileage up. Fortunately, if I remind myself that views like this are waiting for me once the sun comes up, I usually find just enough courage to get started.



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National Granola Bar Day; Help Will Harlan Support the Tarahumara; Random Shots of Beauty

It’s one of those wonderfully lazy days around Running and Rambling headquarters, so I’ll keep the posting brief in order to get back to doing nothing – because those opportunities seem fewer and farther inbetween all the time. So here we go …

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First, the winner of Ashish Mukharji’s barefoot running book: Jen Small, e-mail me your address – you’ve won! Thanks very much to all the ladies who entered, and remember that the book is currently available - to both men and women! – for $14 at Amazon.com.

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Were you aware that today is National Granola Bar Day? It’s true. Honestly, I wasn’t aware of it until just recently, but I’m hosting a belated celebration next week with not one, but two granola-bar related contests. And yes, the page I just linked to will be involved.

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In case you’re wondering why I’m in such a lazy mood, allow me to present this weekend’s Random Shot of Beauty:

The view across Carmel Valley from my deck after a morning rainfall, a harbinger of the first winter storms of the season in our area, bringing some long overdue precipitation to Monterey County. Sure, running in the rain is fun, but sleeping in and spending the day watching storms outside your window while doing puzzles, reading books, and taking catnaps is equally enticing. In fact, it’s probably the thing I like the best (from an admittedly short list) about winter.

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Finally, there’s this: Probably the coolest item I came across this week was a video from Chris McDougall’s website featuring Will Harlan and his experience with the Tarahumara, the indigenous people of Mexico’s Copper Canyons made famous by McDougall’s landmark Born to Run.

Upon watching the piece, I had had two immediate thoughts; 1) Will looks kind of odd when he runs, but 2) He is doing something absolutely inspiring.

Will clearly has a strong connection to the Tarahumara, and he has made it something of a mission to help support their way of life. In addition to being an immensely talented runner, he and his wife are certified organic farmers, and operate a nonprofit farm that provides fresh organic produce to low-income families in need. The farm also assists migrant workers in their home state of North Carolina as well as more remote areas like the Copper Canyons.

Barefoot Farm (great name, right?) is Will’s 501c3 which directly assists Tarahumara farmers by providing them with native maize seeds, basic tools, and assistance with water resources and land protection. He has spent many years with the Tarahumara, building relationships, learning their methods of farming, and assisting them with the necessities to continue their traditional subsistence.

Will is currently in Mexico dealing with what’s reportedly a significant drought situation, which is what triggered McDougall’s blog post. So watch the following video for your own dose of inspiration, then check out this link to assist Will in his remarkable humanitarian efforts.

"Copper Canyons Ultramarathon" from Being The Diablo (click to play):





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Honey Stinger Contest Winners; Random Shots of Christmas

Before today’s Random Shots of Christmas (as I’ve decided to call the weekend posts this month), let’s wrap up the Honey Stinger contest from earlier this week. Thanks very much to everyone who responded, especially those who already use Honey Stinger products and provided positive feedback; I had no idea that so many people were already so crazy about the waffles.

So let’s get to the winners: Derrick, Mary Shannon Johnstone, and Maggie Wolff: e-mail me your addresses – you’ve got a sample pack of Honey Stinger stuff headed your way. To everyone else who wants to get their hands on the new strawberry waffles, here’s the link to purchase them from Amazon.com.

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On to the customary weekend RSOB, er … RSOC. The first comes from my own Carmel Valley neighborhood, on the road that brings me back home after every morning’s run:

As it happens, my house is only about two-thirds of a mile from this sign, so I haven’t really seen any red-nosed reindeer crossings further out in the valley. But it’s getting close to the right time of year, so I’m definitely keeping my eyes peeled.

The other is from Salinas, from the same chocolate shop that went into patriotic mode on September 11th:

So apparently the shop has a muralist on the payroll. As for what I’m doing at a chocolate shop so frequently in recent months, that’s none of your business; it’s still my offseason. That is, at least for a couple more weeks.



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13.1 Los Angeles Giveaway Winner; GU Roctane Drink Mix Giveaway Winner; Random Shots of Beauty

I’ve got a slightly extended Random Shot of Beauty post for today – but first, it’s time to announce the winners of two separate contests that took place this week.

As you’ll recall, the 13.1 Marathon Los Angeles road race drawing was conducted in my typically random fashion – but as it turns out, the winner ended up being in the same neighborhood as the race. Lauren L: e-mail me – you’re the winner, and I’ve got a free registration code for you.

On the other hand, the GU Roctane drink mix contest was completely subjective, and I had no ground rules other than to do something to make me choose you. This one was decided pretty early in the game, when RD Jim dropped his comment in the box. I mean … the dude made a video for me; after that, everyone else was pretty much competing for second place. (Although Anthony’s comment and link to the mobile app page certainly piqued my interest – this is something I need to investigate a bit further.)

Anyway, congrats to the winners, and as always, thanks to everyone else for playing. Stay tuned for another giveaway contest next week.

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With the holiday season in full swing, I’ve decided that for the rest of the month I’ll change these weekend posts to Random Shots of Christmas instead of the customary RSOB. (Besides, there’s beauty in Christmas, so I’m not breaking form too dramatically here.) On that note, I had my camera with me this morning …

… while hanging out with practically everyone else in town at a dilapidated airstrip in the middle of Carmel Valley Village …

…. where everyone awaited two special passengers arriving by air ...

Santa and Mrs Claus, making their customary appearance at the annual Santa’s Fly-In event that has everything you could ever ask when it comes to quaint small-town traditions. After Santa mingles with all the kids, the fly-in is followed by a parade through the village …

… where Santa’s sleigh gets towed by a tractor. It’s just another of those distinctly Carmel Valley scenes that makes me happy to live here.

One unfortunate but unrelated postscript to the story is that while all this Christmas cheer was taking place, I was being left out of the Western States 2012 lottery. Now it’s on to Plan B for next year, which is, um … actually, I don’t really have a Plan B. So I guess my new Plan A is to come up with a Plan B. As soon as I figure something out, I’ll be sure to let you know.





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GU Energy Products Sale; Random Shots of Beauty

I’m getting an early jump on this weekend’s Random Shot of Beauty so you can jump on a good deal while it lasts …

This time it’s another time-sensitive sale from The Clymb, where you can load up on a lot of great GU energy products for up to 70% below retail price. There’s my favorite drink mix powder, GU Brew, block-style GU Chomps, and holiday flavors of standard GU gel. You can also buy GU’s specially formulated Roctane gels at a great bargain – like getting high-performance gel for regular-performance price.



Anyway … go get your GU on at The Clymb quickly, because the offer’s only good until Sunday, November 6th at 9AM, or until everything’s gone – whichever comes first.

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This weekend’s RSOB is another sign of the season …

A rainbow over the hills of Carmel Valley, one of the aftereffects of our first storm system of the fall ... and a hint of the rainy season that's right around the corner.



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CamelBak and Water.org Holiday Fundraiser; Seasonal CLIF Bar Winners; Random Shots of Beauty

In similar fashion as last weekend, we’ll do a couple of shopping notes before getting to the contest winners and Random Shot of Beauty.

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The first note is quick: a reminder that you’ve only got a couple more days to get black and silver Soft Star RunAmoc Dashes for a 20% discount with coupon code TRICK, which expires October 31st. Also remember to check out their Moc3s now available in red or brown colors.

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This second item requires a little back story: last year, the CamelBak company teamed up with a non-profit organization called Water.org whose mission is to provide safe access to drinking water in high-risk communities throughout Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central America. Water.org was founded by Matt Damon, who also bankrolled Charlie Engle’s Running The Sahara film which raised money for H20 Africa, a similarly-minded clean water agency.

Matt Damon with stainless steel Groove bottle (photo courtesy of CamelBak)

The partnership between CamelBak and Water.org works like this: with the purchase of every limited-edition Groove reusable filtered water bottle (which I reviewed back in January), CamelBak will donate $10 directly to the charity. You can choose from this plastic version with specialized artwork for $25, or a stainless steel version for $35.

This is the second holiday season that these two organizations have teamed up for this promotion, and last year CamelBak was able to help more than 10,000 people gain access to safe water. The bottles are great for everyday use and make an affordable, eco-conscious Christmas gift. Yes, it’s almost time to start thinking about that.

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Moving on to the regular business for the day – it’s time to announce our seasonal CLIF Bar giveaway winners. The response to this contest was great, but I – more specifically, the random number generator - can only choose three winners, so … Joyce, Adam, and Sparkplug: e-mail me your contact info – you’ve won! Thanks very much to everyone else who entered, and another big thanks to CLIF for sponsoring this contest.

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Finally, this week’s Random Shot of Beauty. Carmel Valley is largely dominated by oak trees, so we don’t get the eye-popping fall colors that some areas of the country enjoy. However, this particular section of Monterey County also features ideal soil for countless winemakers, so our local seasonal colors look more like this:

(click to enlarge)

As seen in a vineyard at Bernardus Lodge, makers of one of the best wines our area has to offer.



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Civil Obedience

Quick reminder: only one more day to sign up for my Recharge Sports Drink mix giveaway. Get going!


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Our quaint, cozy little village of Carmel Valley is fortunate to have a quaint, cozy little marketplace specifically for the locals:

Along with just about everyone else in town, our family is dependent on this place; if we can’t shop here, the nearest big grocery store is about a 15-minute drive from home. The market is perfect for grabbing a loaf of bread to go with dinner on the way home from work, or for those times when you get halfway through the breakfast recipe before realizing that you’re out of buttermilk.

The owner and employees are about as nice as you’ll ever encounter, and they get along with everyone in our little community. Like any long-term relationship, the goodwill between store and community has been tested at times – especially during one rocky period several years ago when the store was sold to out-of-towners who tried to turn it into an upscale gourmet boutique. They did away with the coin-operated kiddie rides out front, and even got rid of the cigar store Indian that represented everything rustic and quirky about our little town.

They were aiming for sophistication – and predictably, our little village revolted. Locals took their business down the road to the big grocery store, and the Carmel Valley Market eventually ran into hard times. The new owners stopped paying their mortgage, and ultimately closed the store down entirely before hightailing it away from our village and leaving everyone else to pick up the pieces.

Thankfully, new local owners stepped in to re-remodel the store back to the small town fixture everybody loved. They returned the inventory to regular fare, and returned the Indian out front. The return to “old management” even included the original owner, well into his 80s by now, who came back to work in the produce department and serves as the de facto goodwill ambassador for the shop.

Today, the community and the shop are friends again, and that goes for me and my family as well. There’s only one thing I find depressing and objectionable about the market – one that hits me in the face every time I walk through the door.

To save you the trouble of enlarging, I’ve cropped the sign on the door here:

It’s your fairly classic No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service sign, complete with a reference to a health department standard which doesn’t exist. There’s also a mention of safety, on the off chance that I’d cut my foot on a stray tortilla chip and decide to sue them; I guess we can blame the lawyers for that one. But considering that our village and the neighboring communities have one of the highest per capita rates of tie-dyed California hippies anywhere outside of Berkeley or Haight-Ashbury, such a rule runs completely against the communal goodwill that the market worked so hard to re-establish.

To many barefoot advocates, such a sign is offensive, suggesting an underlying premise that having naked feet is somehow offensive. For others, a sign like this is a call to arms (or, um ... legs, or feet - something like that), triggering an immediate effort to reverse the policy through educating the ownership and dispelling commonly held misconceptions about public barefooted-ness. The most hardcore crusaders will argue that the sign is nothing short of discrimination, and campaign to overcome such injustice through public relations or boycott attempts.

As for me, here’s what I do: absolutely nothing.

I don’t feel offended by the sign, I’ve never asked the owner to justify it, and I don’t deliberately take my business elsewhere. Rather, I keep a thin foot cover – typically a pair of Sockwas – under my car seat for anytime I have to throw something on my feet to comply with the rules of the house. And when I return to my car, I slip them off and continue driving barefoot (which also isn’t illegal, despite what you might hear).

In the grand scheme of things, the footwear policy of a small village market isn’t something that will keep me awake at night. I’m not opposed to picking some battles here and there – for example, if my daughter gets kicked out of P.E. class for wearing VivoBarefoots – but this particular cause isn’t a war I feel compelled to fight. It’s not a major inconvenience to slip something on my feet, and I like the market too much to go stirring up any sort of controversy. If that makes me a sellout to my fellow barefoot brethren, so be it.

If this was your neighborhood, what would you do? How about if this was your market – would you let people walk around barefoot? If so, is there a difference between barefoot and bare-chested? I think I’d be a lot more repulsed by some big fat pasty hairy dude walking around shirtless than by a granola-looking dude with grungy feet. Do you consider this a cause worth getting worked up about? I may not be stirring up controversy (at least, not intentionally), but I’m curious to hear what you think in the comments below.




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