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It's all about the nudity 2001-07-31 People, I am not sure where to start with this Naked 5K thing, so I guess I'll start from 5:45 on Saturday morning, which is when I got out of bed. I took a shower and got dressed and we left home. Stopped at a grocery store for muffins and coffee, and then drove to the nudist ranch. The trip took about an hour and 15 minutes, and we were there 45 minutes before the race was supposed to start. My first impression of the ranch occurred after we had turned into the driveway and approached the gate. There was a man and woman standing at the gate; both of them were wearing shirts and smiles and nothing else. (It was a chilly morning.) It was a little surprising to see their nether-regions right out in the open like that, but it shouldn't have been at all, since we knew there would obviously be nudity at a nudist ranch. I guess the nudity became a lot less abstract at that moment. We drove in and found the correct place to park, and there were naked people all over the place. I had the giggles for a few minutes, I couldn't help it. We got out of the car and Francisco stripped. Most people were doing that, just taking their clothes off and leaving them in their cars. A couple women parked near us were sort of giggling and it seemed as though they were there to race as sort of a dare to each other. One of them wore a pair of shorts and the other wore nothing. They started to jog away, to warm up, and agreed that they were both happy to be "flat-chested" at that moment, and then one of them said, "I've always Wanted to run this way!". It was great. I did not take off my clothes at the car because 1) It was chilly, as I have mentioned 2) I was still reserving the right to chicken out and 3) I had to pee and I thought if I was naked it would somehow make it harder for me to wait to find a bathroom. Silly I know. I took my bag containing my towel and notebook and etc, and walked to the clubhouse thing with the naked Francisco. By this time the nudity was less strange, since we had seen so many naked people already, and they all seemed so casual about it. Francisco checked in and got his race number and tied it around his waist. I went to find a bathroom and the only one nearby had a huge lineup of women waiting for it. This was comfortingly normal. I decided to wait to use the old loo until the race had started. Went outside and observed the racers lining up and all that. I would say 98% were racing in the nude or almost nude (some women wore bra tops), and the few spectators present were also nude. I began to feel prudish and overdressed. The race started and the racers went out of sight--it was a cross-country race. There was a group of 4 people at the end of the racers, walking, each with beers in both hands. Did I mention it was 9 am? I'm pretty sure they came in last. Anyway, since the race was underway I went and used the now-available restroom, and while I was in there I took off my clothes and stowed them in my bag. I took my towel and a deep breath and then I was out amongst the nudists. And do you know what? It was fantastic. People were just doing normal people stuff, but they were doing it without clothes. No one looked at me funny, or really at all. I got into a conversation with some of the volunteers who were waiting for the racers to cross the finish line, so they could take their numbers, and they looked me in the eyes (as opposed to anywhere else) and asked me where I was from and it was not even slightly weird. Except that from time to time I would think, "wow, I'm naked". Other than that, not weird at all. The runners began coming back and some of them were quite fast. Francisco came in 18th out of over 170 people, and he was 3rd in his age group. He received a plaque, which he will not allow me to put up in the kitchen even though I really really want to. I helped a bit with the finishers--collecting and ordering their numbers--but I was kind of in the way and not all that much help, so Francisco and I got hot dogs and beer from the clubhouse (the refreshments were part of the whole race thing). It was only 9:30, but it was just one beer, and it was lite. He showered off in the outside shower and swam a little in the pool. I sat in a deck chair and observed people. Here are some things I observed: ~ There are so many different kinds of bodies. It's nuts that our society has certain bodies they consider "ideal". ~ There are people who, if you saw them clothed, would appear to have perfect bodies. They don't. There can be cellulite on even the smallest ass. ~ Nudity is the great equalizer. When we're dressed we generally want our clothing to say something about us. Lawyers wear 'power suits', rebels wear leather, etc. You can't tell much about a naked person until they talk to you. ~ It is difficult to describe naked people. At one point I wanted Francisco to look at one guy's cool tattoo, and instead of saying something like, "Do you see the guy in the blue shirt?" I had to say, "Do you see that guy next to the gazebo? To the right of it? No, the one with the shaved head." ~ There were a Lot of tattoos, and I enjoyed letting mine get some fresh air. In order to show my tattoo normally I would have to wear an outfit contrived for just that purpose, and it would Feel contrived. ~ I was more comfortable naked than I am wearing a swimsuit. A swimsuit is all about showing the body in a flattering way, and what is the point? Swimsuits don't keep you warm or dryer than you would be without them, and they tend to migrate around (who hasn't had a swimsuit ride up uncomfortably?) and squeeze you in places you shouldn't be squeezed. I basically don't ever want to swim again unless i can swim nude. I saw a lot of bodies on Saturday. There were some very large people, and there were some very fit people, but most people were somewhere in between. I felt absolutely comfortable with the whole nudity thing, and I want to recommend it to you. I don't care how non-"ideal" you Think you look in the buff, you should absolutely give nudity a try. Find a nudist ranch/resort near you and go for a day. Seriously. No one will judge you, no one will look at you at all, in fact. Your nudity will be a non-issue. I think everyone should spend a day at a nudist facility; it can really change your perception about yourself and others. Oh, but you should probably make sure it is a "family" facility; otherwise you could end up with a bunch of swingers, and maybe you wouldn't want that. Frankly I feel rather ridiculous for making such a big deal out of the nudity thing in advance. Even writing so much about it now seems kind of silly, since the nudity turned out to feel so normal. I wish the U.S. had more nude beaches. Did you know in some countries, clothed beaches are the exception? It's true, and most European beaches are clothing-optional. Why are we Americans so hung up on clothes? Its crazy! Francisco and I are going to join The Naturist Society. We will go to nudist facilities when The Boy's absence makes it possible (when he's at camps and whatnot). Honestly I kind of wish we could take Boy to nudist places, but there are two main reasons why we don't feel we can: 1) Even though I think Boy would adapt quickly to nudism (especially since he loves to be naked at home so often), he would not be able to talk about it with his friends without them getting weirded out, and I don't want him to feel he has to lie to people to make them feel comfortable. 2) I think some of his relatives on his mom's side would use the nudism thing to petition for guardianship, and what with society as prudish as it is, they might be successful. I don't want to give those people any ammunition. I am mad at them again but I don't want to go into it right now. I could talk on and on about Saturday; the people we met, the minute details of the day, but I think I will stop for now, especially since I have more than used up my lunch hour, and need to do some work. This isn't the entry I was expecting to write about Saturday, before Saturday. I was expecting to be sort of uncomfortable with the whole nudism thing, and you know you can get a lot more humor out of an uncomfortable situation than you can a great situation. So I hope you aren't disappointed in the entry because it's not that funny, but this was my Saturday and this is what I had to say about it. That is all. Love!
come over some time & see me - 2011-02-25 |
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