Hi!

I'm Barefoot Pete, originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin. I moved to Florida in 1980. I've lived in various locations throughout Florida and retired to Temple Terrace in 2005. In case you're wondering where that is, it's a small town adjacent to the northeast part of Tampa. It's only about a mile and a half from the Bay Area Renaissance Festival and about three miles from Busch Gardens. Two of my favorite places!

So along comes a job fair at Busch Gardens. I went... I saw... I got hired... I went to the job fair thinking I'd get information about working there, but somewhere along the line I got hired and didn't know it until they asked, "When do you want to come in for your orientation?" So instead of being happily retired it was back to the daily drudgery of working. I worked there over a year and had a great time. I met some of the most wonderful people. I usually worked at the Hospitality House serving free beer to guests. Now I'm happily retired... again...

A cat allows me to live with him. His name is Tommy, but when he's feeling macho he prefers to be called Mr. T. He's getting pretty old now. He's been with me over 18 years now.

There's also been a bird hanging around my house for the last twenty-some years. He's a cockatiel named Snickers.

Hmmmm... middle age (OK... some may say old age)... I thought somewhere along the line I might have a mid-life crisis or something, but didn't happen... I find that I feel like I've been set free. I'm enjoying life to the fullest and doing pretty much what I want to do instead of what I think other people want me to do. I'm enjoying my new lifestyle, new friends, new hobbies, and also rediscovering old friends and old hobbies.

 

I prefer to go barefoot, but with all the little nasties in the grass around here (fire ants, scorpions, etc.) it's not always a good idea. So when I have to wear shoes I always wear Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Sneakers, unless I'm at a renfest, then I'm in ren boots. I have over 25 pairs in my collection. If you think I'm compulsive, I have a friend who has almost 40 pairs in his collection. Check out my sneakers gallery.

Here's my latest... it's a 2006 Scion TC. I traded off my Inferno Red PT Cruiser. I'll miss the PT but the TC has captured my heart.

And now for a brief interlude...

The Road Not Taken

A poem by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

"Moof!"

And now back to our regularly scheduled web page...

BLUEGRASS MUSIC JAM SESSIONS~
There's a bluegrass jam session every Thursday night at The Bluegrass Parlor, 4810 E. Busch Blvd., Tampa, FL. Their phone number is 813-985-2780. The Bluegrass Parlor is a music store specializing in all your bluegrass needs. Instruments, accessories, lessons, CDs, DVDs. You name it, if it has something to do with bluegrass they'll have it or can get it for you. Stop in sometime and tell them Barefoot Pete sent you. You may even find me lurking about from time to time...

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN ~
If you believe in equal rights for all people in the United States please click on the HRC logo and join...

 

If you really feel a need to send me an email you can sent it to pete (at) barefootpete (dot) com. I used to have a direct link but I've been bombarded with spam so I've removed all direct email links from my site to confuse the spambots.