Perma-Dirt

My friend Megan and I were discussing the joys of perma-dirt last night; how the bottoms of our feet are consistently black. Soap doesn't help. Scrubbing with a loofah doesn't help, either. A foot scrubber, akin to a mini cheese grater, is the only thing that works. Every night I sit and scrub, watching gray flecks of water speckle the sides of the bathtub.

That's what I get for walking around bare foot in my house and wearing flip flops outside in China.

Maybe that explains the Chinese women's style of ankle-high nylon stockings with sandals. Keeps the perma-dirt at bay.

The really disturbing thing is that my son Gabe has quite a lot of perma-dirt, most noticeably on his knees. Baths don't help. Scrubbing with a sponge doesn't help. Last night, in desperation I applied the foot scrubber (aka mini cheese grater) to his knees.

"Does this hurt?" I kept asking.

No, it didn't hurt. I used it on the bottoms of his feet and his ankles too. He's got a perma-dirt patch on the front of his ankle from wearing his Crocs every day. People keep asking if it's a bruise. But really, it's just perma-dirt.

I would welcome suggestions for eliminating perma-dirt. Also, I'm curious: does anyone else have this problem in another part of the world, or can I give all the credit to Tianjin dust and pollution?