Bill and I always take our shoes off before we enter our house. We ask guests who enter our house to take their shoes off. The reason we do this is because the bottom of people's shoes are dirty and we don't want that filth in the house.
Bill introduced me to this practice when I first moved in with him fifty-one years ago. Bill picked up this habit from is time spent in Japan during is Air Force service years during the early Fifties. By the way, Bill saw General Douglas McArthur and Emperor Hirohito during his stay but I digress.
Over the years most of our guests (we actually don't have that many) have complied. The only problem has been with workmen entering our house. Either they are too lazy or too disrespectful to honor our request. Some workmen have complied by wearing booties. Most have not.
Mark this day because it is the last day a workman enters our house wearing shoes without booties. The reason I say this is because I got weak and let a workman wear booties.
Two days ago we had a new air conditioning and heater unit installed in our house, which is mostly wall to wall carpeted. When I encountered one workman entering our house to install the new thermostat I asked "Where are your booties?" He looked at me with a perturbed surprise as said "Booties? Booties? My shoes are clean." And then he proceeded to skip up my carpeted stairs to install the new thermostat.
Folks, I'm ashamed to admit I let it pass.
Up and down the stairs he went several times while I burned. All day yesterday I was bothered. The irony here is that when that this company advertises that all their workers wear booties when in customers' homes.
I was bothered all day yesterday until I called the salesman and told him of my concerns. He acted concerned. He may be or not but one thing I have decided.
NO MORE.
You know folks, at this time of my life, THE END, I'm just tired of letting things pass that bother me.
The next time I someone enters my house and is either too lazy or too disrespectful of me to take their shoes off or put on booties over their shoes, they do not enter my house.
I don't like confrontation and unpleasant situations but I also don't like being disrespected, especially in my home, my sanctuary that both Bill and I work so hard to keep clean.
Have you ever gotten gas for your car? The next time take a look at the ground beneath your feet. Look at the spit, spilled gasoline, and cigarette butts. All those germs and filth goes into your house. I think even more that bothers me is the disrespect.
I'm tired of the disrespect and will put an end to this particular form of disrespect. Of course I will be continued to be disrespected in other aspects of my life but at my home, I can control. And I will.