ElM, there are of course other ingredients than bare foot, shirtless, fun. A debit card loaded to the gunwales with assets is an essential component. The corn, fish and banana sellers expect cash on the barrel-head. If I need a new bicycle tyre, which I did a few years ago, they want cash. If we need more polystyrene, it's available everywhere as waste. Hats are cheap [one blew onto the railway tracks from the bridge we were standing on - I couldn't grab it because I was holding Hayes and it was more important to hold him than catch my $2 hat, Made in China].
So I'm not pretending being poverty stricken, shirtless and barefoot are ideal if it's through lack of choice. But it is important to keep in mind what creates happiness. No doubt other people find happiness in other ways. I have tried many ways. There are many ways. Today was zipping around the Zenbu zones on my motor scooter [bought from daughter who went to Oz a few years ago].
But when I was young, barefoot, shirtless and working at hard manual labour in earnest, for cash to buy food and pay rent, I was happy too. I found barefoot on scaffolding was better than boots/shoes. My toes aren't quite prehensile, but bare feet fit better on steel branches than do shoes. These days, such methods would be considered unsafe. In other jobs, I liked my feet protected, with steel toe caps at that.
Mqurice |
