The ground looks different to one who walks barefoot. “I watch out for black dots and pink dots,” says Ron Blechner, speaking of sidewalks. Black dots could be anything. Pink dots are chewing gum. If he happens to step on gum, “Duct tape takes it off.”
Propping his bare feet on his desk at the Glassboro office of VARx, Inc., a computer firm, is not a problem—he’s the owner. “Going barefoot is the ultimate in comfort and freedom,” says Blechner, 54, who lives in Washington Township, Gloucester County. “I use a common-sense approach. If my feet get cold or the pavement gets hot or I’m working in a hazardous area, I put shoes on. I don’t shovel snow in my bare feet. I’m not a fool.”
Two years ago, Blechner discovered the Society for Barefoot Living, an international organization whose membership includes 25 Jerseyans. One of SBL’s missions is debunking myths—it is not illegal to drive barefoot, or to walk barefoot in public (though in New Jersey, municipalities may regulate otherwise). Just in case, Blechner carries a letter from the State Department of Health and Senior Services stating the facts.
“The biggest impediment to going barefoot in public is ignorance,” Blechner says. “This is America. We’re built on tolerance.”
No one’s tolerance has been more sorely tested than that of Blechner’s wife of five years, Flossie. “She still wishes I would wear shoes in restaurants,” he says.