Each morning we have an important decision to make: what shoes should we wear for the day? Amazingly, most people only consider what "matches" rather than what will be the right shoe for the day's activities.
I'm sitting near my gate at the airport in Dallas returning from a very worthwhile podiatry conference. My flight is delayed and I'm passing the time by doing some reading, organizing my notes from the meeting, listening to my iPod, and people watching.
Whoever thought that traveling, when we have enormous amounts of walking to do, would lead us to wear the worst shoes available...flip-flops. Sure, they have their place: the locker room at your gym, inside public showers, around the pool deck, and maybe one or two other uses. But absolutely not in an airport. I mention this for two reasons.
The first seems obvious but overlooked. I guarantee if you ask some of these people they'll tell you it is the convenience of slipping them off to go through security. This baffles me! You mean to tell me that you want to go barefoot through the same path where thousands of people trudge each and every day. Think about it, along with your perfect bare feet walked how many before you with athlete's foot, nail fungus, warts, or flesh-eating bacteria? (OK, not so much the flesh eating but you've got the point...lots of creepy crawly bad stuff) How often do you think they shut down the security lines to give the floor a good scrubbing? Ten times? Five? Even once? Unlikely!! Wear socks people. You know that you usually slip on your tennis shoes without tying them again anyway, right?
Second, with the amount of walking in the airports, are shoes without any support or protection the right thing to wear. Which is better? Having a 200 lb. stranger in an airport step on your bare foot, or one protected by a shoe? This is not just for airports. The same applies for malls, Disney World, Six Flags, and most other places you can think of.
Before our first child, my wife and I took the usual prenatal classes. It was clear that the podiatrist's wife (mine) was the only woman not wearing flip flops to each class. Coincidentally, she was also the only woman not complaining about foot pain. Ladies, I understand they're cute and everyone is wearing them. Is that important when you have to sit down or limp around?
The footwear that you're wearing should go hand-in-hand with your activity. If you need to go barefoot, be sure to protect your feet. Doing a lot of walking? Wear a more supportive shoe. Going out for a night on the town? That's the time to break out the cute shoes.
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