You can drive barefoot but don’t be a security threat

This column was originally published May 23, 2006:

Now I freely admit I am not the sharpest blade in the knife drawer when it comes to matters of money. Actually, I am not the sharpest blade in the knife drawer when it comes to a lot of different things, but the subject for the moment here is money.

The other day I tried to use my credit card to buy something, and it was denied even though I knew perfectly well my credit card was just fine.

So I called my credit-card company to find out what was up, and it turned out I had made the unpardonable mistake of making two payments on my card in the same billing period.

So they froze my card, according to the person I spoke to, because Homeland Security rules say if you pay twice in one period they will lock up your account for 10 days.

Apparently paying twice in the same period is the sort of thing terrorists do in some effort to undermine our American way of life.

Now does this make sense to you? All I did was make two rather trifling payments to clear my bill, and the government put a freeze on my card for 10 days. This is a great mystery to me.

Fortunately, today's question is not. A mystery, that is.

My mother always told me that driving barefoot would result in a ticket from a law enforcement officer if I were ever caught in the act. Is this true? I am sure your dear mother taught you many wise lessons of life, but she was wrong about this one.

According to the American Automobile Association's Digest of Motor Laws, it is not illegal to drive with bare feet in any of the 50 states.

OK, Alabama does not let you drive a motorcycle with bare feet, but then who would want to? Ohio says driving shoeless is permitted but not recommended.

Everywhere else, including the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, you may drive unshod.

I don't know about Guam.