I saw a guy walking around with no shoes on. This was not the first time I’ve seen this and I am sure it won't be the last. I don’t see the appeal of not wearing shoes. Maybe it’s a not so subtle attempt for attention or part of a belief system that is centered around the idea that shoes are the manifestation of pure evil or maybe you’re just trying to find your inner Tolkien. Whatever the case may be, it is ridiculous.

In this particular incident, it was a hot summer day. One of those days where you take a step outside and immediately yearn for the brisk embrace of AC like a doughboy in the trenches of the Marne would yearn for a home-cooked meal and a leg not infected by gangrene. I was casually walking on the paved sidewalk with the soles of my feet protected by layers of cousin and rubber, but the barefooted guy in front of me walked in agony with each step causing him to dance around like a leprechaun who had just won the "Powerball" or a marionette controlled by a not so confident puppeteer. I had seen this guy walking around on campus with no shoes a couple times before so I felt no pity.

He chose not protect his feet and this was his penance.

After a few skips and hops, he suddenly reeled back and grasped his right foot like he was walking up Kevin Mccallister’s basement stairs. He gave a quick yelp and hobbled to the grass. I walked over to him and asked if he was alright and he replied, “I just stepped on a rock or something. Just one of those days you know”?

Well, yeah, I know what it's like to have a bad day, but if the line you draw between a good and a bad day is stepping on something with you’re barefoot while you’re outside then I may have a solution that will probably make your life about a thousand times better: wear shoes. Even Gandhi wore sandals.