Barefoot in the park

Many years ago, Anonymous Poo had a friend named Andie. Andie had grown up in the hills of Tennessee, where her closest neighbor was a mile away.

One day when she was seven or eight, Andie was running barefoot through the grass when she stepped in a large, fresh pile of poo. The poo was so fresh that it oozed through her toes. She never figured out whether it was human, dog, or cow poo; she just washed her feet and continued to play.

So, when AP read the article "Barefoot in the Park?" in the New York Times, she wondered if we're not getting a little too germ-phobic. The article states:

" ... the experts say, it is the grass in many city parks, so innocent-looking, so tempting, so redolent of the free-spirited days of childhood, that may pose the most unexpected risks, because unlike a rusty nail, they are invisible to the naked eye.

Bacteria are everywhere, from the sidewalks to the subway, and normally, the skin forms a fairly good barrier to infection, doctors said. In general, people with cuts or cracks on their feet or people with compromised immune systems are more likely to pick up an infection from walking barefoot. But getting wet feet by walking barefoot in damp grass can damage the skin’s natural barrier, allowing infections to take hold, said Dr. Giuseppe Militello, an assistant professor of clinical dermatology at Columbia University."

Whatever. People have been running barefoot in the grass for thousands of years. Anonymous Poo herself played shoeless on the family lawn (when her mother wasn't looking) and has somehow managed to survive.

It's summer, dear readers. Take off your shoes and romp through the grass. And if you happen to step in a pile of fresh poo, just wash your feet.

Photo from the New York Times.