Put Up Your Feet, But Take Off Your Shoes

The young woman was very comfortable in her seat as she leaned against a window on the commuter bus bopping to music on her iPod. She wasn't the least bit concerned that she'd put her feet with shoes on, on the adjacent seat. As I stared in disbelief, I wondered how many times had I sat on a seat where a wretched sole had been. I must've been staring pretty hard because she changed her position and put her feet where they belonged.

Yvette and I believe that putting your feet on furniture with your shoes on is a display of a lack of civility and a disregard for others (not to mention the high cost of cleaning clothes and furniture).  Of course, in your own home you can do as you wish. But in the homes of others, you may want to keep your feet on the ground.

Parents and caregivers let toddlers and children do it all the time on public transportation. It's as if they think the soles of childrens' shoes are immune to dirty sidewalks, and the dust, urine, mud, etc., and everything magically disappears. No one tells them that it's not right, so one day they end up on a bus with their feet on a seat bopping to the music while some stranger stares at them in disbelief.

Credit: gilliguy

We're not big fans of shoeless households but you can almost begin to understand why people have them. More than preserving the beauty of parquet and carpet, it's about leaving sidewalk dirt where it belongs. That said, we both welcome you to our homes with your shoes on and we trust that you've made good use of the welcome/doormat before entering.

We have some pretty nice shoes coming into our apartments, but no matter how fabulous the shoe, the sole is not.