BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

Kids generally, misplace, forget and lose a lot of things.
Would you like to know how many pair of shoes an Italian kid loses in a year?
NONE.
Would you like to know why?
Simple, he (or she) NEVER takes them off, to begin with.
Do you remember ever losing a pair of shoes as a child, and then survive to tell the tale?
Neither do I.

My kids lose an average of two pair of shoes per year. EACH.
That means that twice a year they come home wearing nothing but socks, and they make sure I don't notice.

Kids in San Francisco take their shoes off everywhere, as soon as they can.
The adults do the same thing (and they should be the ones setting the example!).
They take their shoes off when they visit you at home. They walk barefoot in the park.
They even walk barefoot on the concrete, on the street.
A couple of my friends have been jogging with no shoes for a few months now and they swear about it.
Apparently no matter how well engineered your running shoe is, your own foot's engineering is even better.
Years ago I spent some time in India. For two weeks, me and some Italian friends, played soccer with a team of street urchins.
We were wearing cleats. They were playing barefoot on the gravel.
Apparently they had it right all along.
We never won a game.