With or without shoes?
With our without shoes. That sounds like a poorly pronounced U2 song from 1987, but it’s not. Rather, it is a decision we get to make in Iowa’s summer months.
Do you remember being a child and feeling the hot concrete on your bare feet? That warmth felt so good and never seemed to burn. And do you remember watching adults in the same situation, prancing around like they were on hot coals? What is it about an adult’s foot that is so much more tender than a child’s? One would think that a kid’s bare skin would be more sensitive than an adult’s. I guess we have pampered ourselves as adults for too many years with all those fancy shoe coverings.
Speaking of being pampered. We had one window air conditioner in my childhood home, and I thought we had it made. I don’t remember being uncomfortably warm inside the house, but I do vividly remember putting my face in front of that air conditioner and feeling the cold AC blowing my Shaun-Cassidy-like hair. The next house we moved into had central air conditioning, and I soon became spoiled by the evenly cool air. Ever since, I much prefer a well-chilled home. Yes, pampered again.
Did you ever notice how much cooler a lush forest can be than other outside areas, especially on a hot summer day? Aside from the shade, there are other biological reasons for this that I won’t bore you with in this column. My friends and I didn’t know why it was cooler in the forest — or care — but we migrated to the trees. We pedaled our bicycles to the state park and ran around in the woods on the trails, and we never seemed to get too hot — at least not until the bicycle ride back home in the afternoon.
Most of my childhood summer days were spent at the public swimming pool. There simply wasn’t a better way to cool down, and, of course, we were also entertained by watching the adults trying not to burn their feet on the hot concrete.
Regardless of how hot it gets, we still have a wardrobe decision to make.
With or without shoes?
Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707
