Last fall, reporting on my 10,000th barefoot mile, I commented on a confrontation in a coffee shop, and even today I still recall the young woman’s hazel eyes, above the light-blue surgical mask, glaring with hostility.  Then there was the art museum in Ft. Worth, where a portly security manager dressed in a navy blazer explained, patiently, that “it’s the law.”  Which it’s not.  (Trust me, I do my research.)

But I am nothing if not stubborn.  On the way to 11,000 miles, I made it into both these places without shoes, as well as dozens of other establishments, as part of my participation in the Barefoot Autism Challenge, and as part of my unplanned transition to a mostly barefoot lifestyle.

I don’t track steps, however, so coffee shops and art museums did not contribute to the cumulative total.  Rather, it was running and mountain-climbing that got me to this latest milestone. Continue reading “11,000 Miles Barefoot” →