See Barefoot Hikers International web site for cover photo and brief review.
See Barefoot Writers page for more background on the book.
See HTML version of the book.
Assuming, as I must, that most of those visiting this site will
be barefooters and readers of my book, I shall try herein to answer the question: Who
would ever write a book like this? Most of the following, therefore, is what I told prospective
publishers on the "ABOUT THE AUTHOR" page of my original book proposal for
THE BAREFOOT HIKER:
I was born in New York City at sunrise on 13 December 1947.
I hold both United Kingdom and United States passports.
I hold a Bachelor of Divinity degree from Kings College, London.
In taking this degree in 1984, I was required to pass examinations in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, as well as in English. Languages and Linguistics have long been of great interest to me. I can read
Anglo Saxon, am fairly fluent in Polish, and can comprehend Spanish to an extent. I have also study'd reconstructions of the Proto Aryan Language. I have also made an extensive study of
Calligraphy, and Palæography; and am well versed in Astrology. I was also once a professional
Cartographer.
In matters of grammar, spelling, and punctuation, I am most influenced by the style of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. I prefer an Oxford Dictionary. The modern writer whose style I like best is Elizabeth Goudge.
I had study'd Theology with the intention of becoming a priest of the Church of England, but it became apparent that as an Anglo Catholick, an absolute Monarchist, and a Reactionary Tory Paternalist, I was far too conservative for what the C. of E. was becoming at the time and was
unlikely ever to be recommended for Ordination. My conscience has since forced me to flee the Anglican Communion and make my peace with
Rome, and I thank God and the Saints that I was at last led to Sacred Heart, New Haven, which still preserves the traditional (Tridentine) Latin Mass. In terms of philosophy, I am most influenced by St. Thomas Aquinas and Bishop Berkeley.
My wife, Joanne, and my daughter, Elizabeth, moved to Connecticut with me in 1987, and my son Charles was subsequently born here. This move brought me into the family retail business___
Jo and I bought the house at 50 Leigh Ave. early in the summer of 1992, while I was still working on THE BAREFOOT HIKER, but Jo had an experience later that same summer which converted her to Lesbianism, and she moved in with her girlfriend. She moved to Winstead in the summer of 1995. Charlie chose to stay with me in Thomaston, but Beth chose to move with her mother and go to school in Winstead. The situation has continued to evolve in many ways, but I have always had both my children here on weekends, when Jo works overnight,
so they have both been quite regular barefoot hikers. I have continued to regard myself as a marry'd man, to wear my wedding ring, and to encourage Jo to participate in as much of our wider family life as possible. Fortunately my age makes it quite easy for me to accept the absolute celibacy that my faith enjoins upon a man in my position; but I still find it helpfull to exchange thoughts with others in similar positions.
My earliest encounters with barefoot hikers were in dreams which I remember having since I was 4 or 5 years old. In hindsight, I now see this clearly as the pull of Destiny; but at the time the pull was so strong that it generated a fear/fascination response that kept me quite decidedly shod for many years, during which I now realise that I had been far healthier, both in body and in mind, had I been going barefoot. Yet mistaken for a Siren though she may have been, the barefoot Muse who had met me in my childhood was unrelenting, and as I grew older she sent several barefooters to meet me in the waking world -- untill at last, at about the age of 21, I was persuaded to try barefoot hiking for myself. The Earth felt wonderfull under under bare feet, and through the days and weeks and months of barefooting that follow'd, I was continually overwhelm'd by the joy of a calling heard at last. Not for many more years, however, until I was about 35, in fact, and already had quite a bit of grey hair, did I realise that the true fullness of my calling to be a barefooter could only come in sharing the joy of barefooting with others, as I now do through my book, through the Society for Barefoot Living, through the Barefoot Hikers of Thomaston, and through our growing network of affiliated Barefoot Hikers local groups. I also do whatever I can to encourage and facilitate the work of other barefooters, as can be seen in the advertisement that I prepared for my friend Susan Keane.
I have hiked, both alone and with various groups, over much of England, Europe, and North America, and have always done all my hiking, both summer and winter, in my bare feet. I enjoy going barefoot year round, and now go barefoot just about always and everywhere except to work and to mass.
A photograph of myself with J.D.taken by my daughter Elizabeth. Button loads 67k full size JPEG image.
|
|
|
Updated 1 February, 1998 |
home phone (860) 283-6594 work phone (203) 264-2235 fax to: (203) 264-9005 e-mail to: bhthom@bhthom.org |
|
Acknoledgements to Kris Nosack, whose HTML Writer software reduced the creation of these pages to a manageable task; and to Paul J. Lucas, our DSS webmaster, whose telephone tutorials were equally invaluable.
SOLVE CALCIAMENTVM DE PEDIBVS TVIS 