Martha Stewart is not very well known over here in the UK. Back at the time of her incarceration, not many British people even knew who she was.
Nevertheless it is nice to know that a famous domestic goddess like her is in favour of shoes being removed at the door.
You can visit her website, Martha Stewart Living
There are some carpet care tips, naturally including advice to institute a no-shoes rule.
In the list of allergy protection advice for gardeners, she recommends havign a separate pair of gardening shoes and keeping them outside.
To disappoint fans of Sex in the City, those holding a baby shower are recommended to ask guests to leave their shoes at the door.
Discovering Reverance
The comfort aspect of shoe removal is both a strength and a weakness of the case for shoes off at the door.
It is certainly the case that most people will feel more comfortable for having removed their shoes. A 'no-shoes' home is a place of comfort.
The problem is that the western association of removing shoes with comfort and informality may make people more reluctant to accept the idea of removing shoes on more formal occasions even in the home. People may think that it is somehow inappropriate or impolite to go shoeless at a dinner party.
The problem is that in western culture, we have no concept of removing shoes as an act of reverance. The closest thing in the west would be Roman Catholics going barefoot at shrines like St. Patrick's Mount. To us in the west, it is more respectful to keep shoes on than to take them off.
In contrast, in most oriental cultures there is an assocaition of shoes-off with reverance. Mulsims do not remove their shoes in Mosques to be more comfortable (though I believe they usually have lovely carpets); they remove them because the Mosque is sacred. Japanese pupils remove their outdoor footwear on arriving at school, not just in order to keep it cleaner, but because the school is a place of authority that is worthy of their esteem.
I dare say that British people will come to appreciate this association of shoes-off with reverance more and more. School pupils in this country are often taken to visit non-Christian places of worship where they shoes must be removed. Thailand has become a very popular tourist destination for British people and there they experience going barefoot in Buddhist temples. More and more they will learn to show respect and reverance to the homes of their friends by taking off their shoes.
It is certainly the case that most people will feel more comfortable for having removed their shoes. A 'no-shoes' home is a place of comfort.
The problem is that the western association of removing shoes with comfort and informality may make people more reluctant to accept the idea of removing shoes on more formal occasions even in the home. People may think that it is somehow inappropriate or impolite to go shoeless at a dinner party.
The problem is that in western culture, we have no concept of removing shoes as an act of reverance. The closest thing in the west would be Roman Catholics going barefoot at shrines like St. Patrick's Mount. To us in the west, it is more respectful to keep shoes on than to take them off.
In contrast, in most oriental cultures there is an assocaition of shoes-off with reverance. Mulsims do not remove their shoes in Mosques to be more comfortable (though I believe they usually have lovely carpets); they remove them because the Mosque is sacred. Japanese pupils remove their outdoor footwear on arriving at school, not just in order to keep it cleaner, but because the school is a place of authority that is worthy of their esteem.
I dare say that British people will come to appreciate this association of shoes-off with reverance more and more. School pupils in this country are often taken to visit non-Christian places of worship where they shoes must be removed. Thailand has become a very popular tourist destination for British people and there they experience going barefoot in Buddhist temples. More and more they will learn to show respect and reverance to the homes of their friends by taking off their shoes.
If The Shoe Fits
A Cinderella story it isn't. There is a mysterious shoe and a fitting to find its rightful owner. There's even a wedding. But, at least for the shoe's alleged owner, there is no happily ever after.
The story begins with a van plowing into the bathroom of a house in Holiday, a suburb of St. Petersburg. Residents Sandy McCombie and her fiance, Michael Toth, watched the van's driver flee across their front lawn — leaving a shoe behind.
The Florida Highway Patrol was investigating about an hour later when John Glen Aquista, 43, of Holiday walked up to the scene.
The man was bloody, wearing only boxer shorts and, most important, shoeless. His injuries looked as if his face had smashed into a steering wheel, investigators said. Aquista denied involvement in the crash, but the van was registered to his address, the patrol said.
When a trooper asked him to slip on the wayward shoe, "it was a perfect fit," the FHP said.
Aquista was charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving property damage and driving without a valid license. He was being held in the Pasco County jail in lieu of $1,250 bond Monday, jail records show. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.
McCombie, 46, and Toth, 39, plan to get married Friday.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
Timberland Mistake
I was doing spring cleaning in dirty Fila's closet and I tried to weed out shoe shoes that may have been too small. I bought her a pair of timberland boots the christmas before last. They were her pride and joy. Now this past winder she barelay wore them. I thought they were too small as she seems to be in btween shoe sizes suddenly. I put them in a box going to Good Will.
She asked me where her shoes where. Therein lies the rub. Those timerlands? I told her that the things that did not fit had already been given away. Can we say broken hearted child? Can we say distraught mother. That was her first pair of timberlands. She informed me that they still fit. It was just that she was wearing her other shoes this past winter. She had to have the high heeled Rocawear boots. Remember?
Well, I apologized for tossing them and told her I would buy her another pair just like or any other pair of Timberlands that she wanted. Well, she has already taken me up on the offer. We got her a pair of the new timberland, maryjane ballet shoes. She loves them. She decided to pass on another pair of boots.
She asked me where her shoes where. Therein lies the rub. Those timerlands? I told her that the things that did not fit had already been given away. Can we say broken hearted child? Can we say distraught mother. That was her first pair of timberlands. She informed me that they still fit. It was just that she was wearing her other shoes this past winter. She had to have the high heeled Rocawear boots. Remember?
Well, I apologized for tossing them and told her I would buy her another pair just like or any other pair of Timberlands that she wanted. Well, she has already taken me up on the offer. We got her a pair of the new timberland, maryjane ballet shoes. She loves them. She decided to pass on another pair of boots.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
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