The Constant Hazards Of The Beach Lifestyle & Destinations
I went for a run today but had to stop after a few steps because my toe was swollen.
My toe was swollen because I jammed it against a piece of furniture the other day. It turned blue – well, more black, really – and swelled up a bit.
It’s the second swollen toe (on different feet) I’ve had the last two weeks.
If you think I’m clumsy, I’m not, at least no more than the normal person. It’s because I’ve been walking around barefoot and wearing flip flops. I have not had on shoes to protect my toes.
It’s summertime, I’m at the beach and walking around in flip flops everywhere I go leads itself to certain dangers, such as stubbing your toes.
There are other hazards, too. Putting flip flops with wet feet – coming out of the ocean, rinsing off your feet after waling on the sand, being by the pool, etc. – makes them slippery. Stepping onto a concrete surface with slick sandals can send you catapulting toward the grown, arms flailing and the voice doing an impromptu “wo-OOOO!!!”
If there’s a railing nearby, I grab a hold of it and if there’s not, I walk very carefully, shuffling my feet as if I’m in the ocean scaring off stingrays.
Wearing flip flops also can cause one to get the tops of their feet sunburned – which can be quite painful when you have to actually put on socks and shoes – or at the very least you get a V-shaped suntan lines on the tops of your feet.
When I go to certain places, in particular Hawaii, I wear flip-flops so often I don’t even take any other shoes with me. I’ll wear the flip flops onto the plane – something I love doing by the way – and be in them walking around everywhere, even when I’m not on the beach.
When I wear flip flops, I feel so relaxed. I’m in that great “no-hurry” mindset that is so reflective of being in a flip-flop destination. The pace of my walk slows down, the need to have to hurry to get to a place evaporates like raindrops after an afternoon shower and any worries I had even a day ago seem as if they are weeks ago in my mind.
Thus, you take the pain along with the pleasures.
That’s because it’s impossible to avoid some type of injury such as stubbing your toe when you’re in flip flops most of the time. You’ve just got to deal with it. Having a few cocktails helps sooth any pain, by the way.
I’ve got to pass on running for the next few days and even doing other activities such as playing beach volleyball that put pressure on my toe.
So you see, even at the beach it’s not all fun, fun, fun in the good ‘ol summertime. Although it sure beats wearing those uncomfortable hard shoes along with a suit and a tie.
Cheers!
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