What it means to have the Barefoot name

Buddy Wayne gives his thoughts on his family's name and what it means to him in this posting. - D.H.

"English: nickname for someone who was in the habit of going about his business unshod, from Old English bær ‘bare’, ‘naked’ + fot ‘foot’. It may have referred to a peasant unable to afford even the simplest type of footwear, or to someone who went barefoot as a religious penance..."
 - Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4 via ancestry.com, on what the last name Barefoot means
"No matter how poor you are, if you've got family, you're always rich."
 - Robbie "Sweetie Pie" Montgomery, restaurant owner and reality TV star
"It feels better barefoot.  We're in the country.  That's how we do it."
 - Employee at convenience store frequented by reality TV phenomenon Honey Boo Boo (Meka?)1

Although the last name we share has such a negative connotation in so many ways, we are proud of it.  That's why I have asked everyone to go shoeless throughout the house, and even in some public settings.  Also, I have encouraged our family to spend their break times in the meadow on the south end of our property or at the side of our pond so we can go to the most appropriate settings for our name.  The feeling of the grass or the sand beneath our feet is good!

Since I moved to Idealia, people have wondered how I could be so happy with living with such a very low standard of living compared to what I had before.  They are still stunned that someone with three NASCAR championships and many music awards could live the way I do now, on an obvious trip back in time.  Here's how I answer the question: As hard as this place is, as much as I miss some of the things of modern life, if I could ask for any place to be at any time in history, this is exactly it.  I get to live off the land, use my imagination, learn new skills, and most importantly of all meet new people and learn more about the relatives I already have. 

Sweetie Pie is right: life should be measured in what you have, not how much you have.  I should add that it should also be measured by how happy you are.  Heaven is a place of guaranteed happiness, health, and well-being, and none of us are taking the place for granted.

That's it for me, until next time.

Pictured: Elizabeth Carol Mason, mother of my Facebook friend Deb Holmes, in a childhood photo taken in 1943.

See also this posting from namesake Darren Barefoot with more detailed information and this alternate name theory, which has nothing to do with bare feet.

1 However, in the scene in question, Boo Boo herself is not barefoot; instead it is her sister Lauryn.