Can we talk?

Socks and Sandals

    There are very few places in the world where socks and sandals go together in public. But one such place is Charlottesville, Virginia, if you have a tough skin that is.
    Year after year the controversy wages on. All the local media, which is plentiful due to the University's influence, carries stories, opionion polls, editorials, etc., showing the avid interest of local residents.
    On one side people think it looks gauche and ridiculous. They want to uphold acceptable codes of dress, not necessarily fashion. They argue vehemently that sandals are to free the feet and socks are to go inside shoes. These are the conventional, mainstream types.
    On the other side, there are people who like to be comfortable and rebellious at the same time. Some really don't care and just wear the socks. Others want to write every week or call in to radio shows in defense of this practice.I think these people do care what people think and are determined to be accepted by their opponents.
    What kind of people wear socks and sandals? Well, old people, children, young adults, middle-aged people, young parents. Then there's the hippies, the red-necks, the nerds, the artsy crowd, the vegetarians, the construction workers (when safety permits), the college professor when he's off duty. And sometimes doctors (there is a very high ratio of doctor per capita). They're not content just to be comfortable. They're very vocal about their right to make their own special fashion statement.
    Mind you, it's not a cruel war. There are no casualties. Charlottesville is one of those places where people can agree to disagree. I just can't think of anonther environment where it would find the space in newsprint or on the airwaves. It's a controversy that pales beside elections, and politics, and cultural phenomenom. But it makes us smile and we enjoy the latest tirade. It's kind of fun actually.
    The Charlottesville area has always encouraged people to be distinctive. There, hats might be all the rage in schools, but in other cities you see no hats. Daytime pajamas for all ages caught on there early. I can always see things in the general population when I visit there that I just can't find anywhere else. 
    Maybe I should get some socks and a pair of Birkenstock's.See what all the fuss is about!