Though I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning, I piddled around, barely making it to the gym this morning in time to get in a short workout before driving to Tuscaloosa to meet a friend for lunch.
Driving was a dream - the wind whipping through my hair - free air conditioning while getting a tan - tunes blasting as I sang along. I made it to T-town with time to spare, so I stopped into Bama Fever to see what all they sold (for the curious - everything from hats to houndstooth panties!) I’d never shopped there for myself, as I’ve always been an Auburn fan, but now that I’m officially a student at “The University,” I might as well walk the walk!
No sooner had I stepped out of Bama Fever to meet my friend than my shoes broke. They were “un-walkable!” My mishap on the Regions bicycles at Birmingham-Southern years ago had put my sparkly shoes on the fritz and they finally kicked the bucket. Well, as we were hungry, we went ahead - barefoot - to Kobe.
I’d heard on a movie once that if you look people in the eye, no one will notice what you’re wearing. For the most part, this proved true throughout the day. I enjoyed my meal at Kobe in true Alabama style, barefoot. I walked all over campus, skipping over hot bricks and attempting to get my Action Card, Parking Pass, and books, barefoot.
I made it halfway back to Hoover and decided to make a pitstop at TJ Max and Home Goods to purchase my bakeware for my new kitchen. At the cash register, the male cashier laughed saying “You’re missing your shoes, aren’t ya?” I explained the situation as they chuckled and burned my feet running back towards my car.
My last stop was at Ross Dress For Less to pick up one last pan. I meandered down the home goods aisle and as I was inspecting a spring form pan, a man in a vest with the logo “loss prevention specialist” came over and explained that children often break glass in the store and he would kindly ask me to put on my shoes. “My shoes are in car,” I explained. “I broke them this afternoon and I can’t walk in them. I don’t usually walk barefoot everywhere.”
“Well, you don’t look the type,” the smiling guy said. I assured him that I’d be ten minutes and then I’d head home. Not three minutes later did his manager come, in a huff, to escort me out of the store, as there are pins in the clothes that could stick in my feet. I was allowed to purchase my pan, and then promptly left.
No joke! It’s no shoes, no service world here in Alabama. In middle school a new student moved to Alabama from up North. She told me she was so surprised when she arrived in Alabama and there were paved roads and people wore shoes. Well, rest assured, we Alabamians wear shoes, as it is now a liability to enter a store barefoot!
Just for kicks, I’ve included a photo of my feet after walking all over shopping center on Macfarland Ave., University of Alabama campus, and TJ Max/Home Goods/ Ross in Hoover - unwashed. Not bad. Our streets are pretty clean :-p
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