Stinky Feet

My experience with stinky feet has not been prolific, but a few memories have surfaced recently due to a situation I've been having with my gym/work shoes for the last week or so.

My earliest memory of stinky feet was in junior high school. We wore shoes without socks there, which was perfectly normal to us, unlike here in Utah where I was stunned to see people wearing socks with their sandles! We lived in Puerto Rico where the humidity was often upwards of 100%. Put that together with the sockless feet and you'll know why no one wanted to take off their shoes in public.

A more recent memory is of a 5th grade PE class of mine. A mother of one of the girls came to teach a yoga lesson. She asked everyone to take off their shoes and as soon as they did I wished they hadn't. Overpowering is the word I'd use to describe the air, even in that large and spacious gym.

Last week I noticed my gym shoes were looking a bit drab, so I threw them in the washer to brighten them up. They came out with a weird smell, so I put them back in and added some bleach. This time they came out smelling like a clean bathroom. I propped them up in front of a space heater and I wore them to work when they were dry.

A couple of days later I took them off and a whiff of stench rose to my nose. What in the world? Over the next few days the smell got stronger, enough so that if I was sitting, my nose was close enough to my feet to notice.

While teaching classes today I could smell the odor wafting up from a full standing position. It was getting stronger. When the students grouped around me I convinced myself that they'd probably think it was from some other student or even worry that the stink was coming from their own shoes. You can get away with a lot in an elementary school.

Later, I sat in a "teacher class" after school and couldn't concentrate for the smell emanating from my shoes. I thought, my whole table must be able to smell it, as I studied their faces for clues. My friend, the Health/Computer teacher, assured me she detected nothing, but I pushed my feet further under the table anyway. When she left for a few minutes, I knew she was taking a fresh air breather. She came back giving the excuse that she was talking to another teacher about a computer problem. Convenient.

My shoes are again in the washing machine. I added some air softener with a floral bouquet. Will it be enough to save my shoes? I only need them to last until the end of the school year!