by Glenn Strange

written before 2010

There’s nothing more attractive than a naked-footed woman. Now, that I have your attention. Sorry, I can’t help myself. It all started when my next door neighbor, Barbara Poteat was my babysitter.  She was 16 and I was 5. Barbara went barefooted durning the summer. Mama made me wear sandals. And, to make it even worse, I had to wear socks with the sandals ….. white socks.

All the other mom’s let their son’s wear tennis shoes, or better yet, cowboy boots.  All I ever had were brown leather strap buckle-up sandals.  I’m not sure why Mom wanted me to wear sandals.  Maybe it was because sandals cost less money than real shoes, or maybe it was because she wished her second and last child had been a girl. Sandals … just hearing the word still causes me pain to this day. I remember trying to run and play games with my neighborhood buddies. Near the end of every summer the front sole area of my sandals would have become week and worn.  If I walked fast or ran, the soles would turn under my toes, and cause me to fall to the ground. Every year, by the first week of August, I was averaging 4 falls a day. My knees looked like a cheap pizza with burnt cheese.

Anyway, as I was about to say, “It was Barbara Poteat that convinced my mom I should have real shoes like all the other boys in the neighborhood. Barber was also the one that took the time to teach me to make a bow-knot with my shoe strings. She was the older women in my life and she made me feel like a real “Big-Boy”. If it had not been for her I would still be wearing sandals to this day.  Sandals, white socks, and who knows, maybe even a dress. I’m sorry, you didn’t need to hear that. It’s just, I’ve always felt mama wanted a daughter. If you’ve got time, I would like to talk about it.  It’s just childhood memories.