(ORDO NEWS) — Joseph DeRuvo Jr. of Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, gave up shoes more than two decades ago after he developed painful calluses on his feet and has been barefoot ever since.
Joseph DeRuvo Jr., 59, doesn’t remember the day he decided to give up shoes forever, but he knows for sure that it was in 2002. He developed calluses on both feet, which hurt when he jogged in tight running shoes.
The doctor recommended surgery to relieve the pain, but before the procedure, the former photographer decided to go barefoot because the pain in his feet was so bad.
While contemplating the operation, Deruvo Jr. learned that the screws that were to be inserted into his feet contained a metal to which he was allergic, and he also realized that he felt much better.
In the end, he decided against the operation and decided to lead a barefoot lifestyle.
“Haptic feedback just makes everything else a little more fluid,” Joseph recently told the New York Times.
But simply giving up shoes forever is not as easy as it seems. We may be born barefoot, but as a respectable adult living in the city, you must wear shoes when you go out.
That’s why Joseph DeRruvo Jr. and his wife, Lini Ecker, are “kicked out of a lot of places.”
People don’t seem to feel comfortable around someone who walks around barefoot, even if they’re otherwise perfectly normal, and they’ll complain to the management of any establishment they’re in.
Because certain situations require him to wear shoes, such as going out with friends to restaurants that he knows cannot go barefoot, Joseph Jas has a pair of loose sandals in the car, but he only wears them when absolutely necessary.
Otherwise, he prefers to walk barefoot, even in intense summer heat or on frosty winter days.
He claims that nothing is more painful than walking on chemically-treated, ice-melting salt in winter, adding that the experience has given him a great liking for dogs.
DeRuvo is often asked about the dangers of sharp objects getting into his callused soles, but he says the benefits far outweigh the risks, and that walking barefoot just means he has to be more careful when he’s outside.
“It’s a disciplined movement,” he told Asi CBC It Happens. “I mean, it keeps you from being distracted when you walk.
You have to be aware of where you step, where you put your foot, and how you roll off your foot.”
Joseph DeRuvo Jr. claims that, in addition to the medical reasons for walking barefoot, he is so accustomed to walking barefoot that whenever he does not feel the ground under his feet, he always becomes a little more nervous than usual.
When his feet are in direct contact with the ground, he always feels literally more down to earth.
DeRuvo, who considers himself a religious man, cites the Bible as inspiration for his unusual lifestyle choices, specifically the Old Testament story of God speaking to Moses from a bush where he says, “Take off your sandals, this earth saint.”
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.