Saturday, May 22, 2010

Shuck your shoes

I think I've adjusted well to living in another state, I survived the snow,  my ears got used to the accents, and I gave up hopes of finding a spaghetti squash out of season. Somethings though still strike me as odd.

And one of those is the custom here of removing your shoes when you enter a house.

This is not done in Arkansas...at least not where I'm from. Granted where I'm from lots of people don't even wear shoes.....
...but chatting about my inner hillbilly is a whole other post.

In fact I don't think I've ever taken my shoes off at someone's house, unless they were a little...you know - neat freakish. It just seems wrong...intimate even. I think it's the socks. In Arkansas I never saw anyone's socks. They were either wearing shoes or it was hot and they were barefoot. I never saw my husband's socks until we were married. So all of a sudden we move here and everyone is asking me to take my shoes off and I felt like I was in the middle of a bad porn movie.
Of course now that I've been here for a while I know why there is this custom of shucking your shoes....11 months of out of the year their is either snow or mud on the ground. So it makes sense, but it's still hard to get used to.

For example, our furnace broke the other day (Yes we were using our heat in May, it was 40 degrees!) so our landlord said he would send over Mr. Furnace to check it out. Yes I giggled. No I don't feel bad. If you are going to name yourself Mr. Furnace I'm going to giggle...probably a lot. A few hours later there was a knock on my door and a man said "I'm Mr. Furnace, I heard you've got a problem with your heat." and he stepped inside and tore off his shoes. Come on....you can't tell me that's doesn't just scream "cheesy love scene" to you.

What impressed me though was that he had to go back and forth between the house and his truck several times and with each trip he would put his shoes back on and off! I was shocked that he cared about my carpets so much but still couldn't look him in the eye while he stood there in his socks and I kept thinking of how funny it would be for Jason if he should come home and see a pair of man's boots by the door. Of course it didn't help matters that the next day Mr. Furnace called for me....and I was gone so Jason answered. "Uh, Mr. Furnace here (giggle) I fixed your wife's furnace yesterday and was just calling to make sure everything was ok."

I NEVER had a worker call to check up on what he had fixed in Arkansas. Jason found it amusing "So, he only took his shoes off huh?...And he's just checking on the furnace...uh huh."

5 comments:

  1. ROFL! You know, in my own home? Socks only. In someone else's home? Just weird. Like, are we on more intimate terms than I thought we were? I totally understand, and I'm originally from Michigan, where the snow/slush/mud is probably just as bad. I've gotten to the point of taking a pair of slippers in my tote along with me when we go over to other people's houses. Just me. Crazy slipper-carrying freak. Just so you know - not just you, lol.

    Thanks for the laugh tonight - have a great rest-of-weekend!
    ~Shani

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  2. Thanks Shani!

    I might have to get some slippers myself....good idea!

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  3. lol, are those Mr. Furnaces actual work boots? This post made me smile, I have only been asked once in my whole life to take off my shoes at someones house, I was a teenager and this was the hang out, and the mom had just got new carpet, and she was trying to prolong the new carpet despite big kids in her house all-the-time.

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  4. Enjoyed your post, as it made me laugh. I live in Arizona, and we're pretty casual most of the time. I live in sandals most of the year, and love to be barefoot, so I kick off my shoes as soon as I enter my friend's home. I have light colored carpet in my home, so I ask people to take off their shoes too. New friends learn pretty quickly to wear shoes that they can easily slip off if they are coming to my house. I don't feel it's too intimate of a thing to do; I see it as casual and that's how I roll.
    I have had repair guys who put on "booties" over their workshoes when they come indoors, and I appreciate that. I like my light carpet, and have no desire to be cleaning carpets every time I turn around.

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  5. Nydia,
    My best friend's family got new carpet when I was a child but they put clear plastic rugs down over it to protect it from everyone's shoes. I remember I didn't like the sound it made when I walked on it. lol

    lunaetstellae,

    I can see how in Arizona it would be easier to slip off your shoes since you're just wearing flip flops etc. I think it's just the socks that bother me. I went to a birthday party and all the guest were sitting on the couch and chairs wearing nice clothes but in their stockings...freaked me out. It makes perfect sense I know....just not what I'm used to.

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