Date: Wed, 11 Sep 1996 10:55:34 EDT

From: Undetermined origin c/o LISTSERV maintainer

owner-LISTSERV[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU

Subject: Re: oh those ignorant southerners . . .



It seems to me that, contrary to what David Johns suggests, that

"barefoot" would be an even better way of keeping someone under

control in the north than in the south. Just think, for a

moment: if someone stole your shoes in January, would you rather

be in Georgia or New Hampshire?



On the other hand, maybe the "barefoot" part has less to do with

not owning shoes than with feet swelling in pregnancy, something

"ladylike" shoes don't accommodate well. In other words, maybe

someone noticed that pregnant women are likely to take their

shoes off indoors, even in situations where other women would

consider it improper.



This speculation is a lot of fun, but I'm starting to wish for

some more data on the distribution of the phrase.



Vicki Rosenzweig

vr%acmcr.uucp[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]murphy.com | rosenzweig[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]acm.org

New York, NY