The Nude Life

After being nudists for over a decade, and living the nude life at home and with friends in an active nudist club for all of those years, it seems that one’s perception of what is ‘normal’ takes a dramatic twist.

For example, how many times have you been greeted warmly by a smiling nude woman, with a sincere hug and “air kiss,” the moment after walking into her house? When is the last time you stood inches away from a half-dozen naked folks of all ages, shapes and sizes, yakking away while you yourself and all of them are just as naked as can be, and having a great time with no sense of self-consciousness or discomfort? How much time do you spend sitting among a group of nude folks in a bubbly hot tub, with steam and warm water invigorating a chilly winter night, with no thought at all that anything is the slightest bit out of the ordinary? Have you spent a night playing BINGO at a nudist resort in a room filled with 100 other folks who couldn’t care less what you are or aren’t wearing? Have you stood in front of 1,200 strangers on the stage of a cruise ship, nude, performing in the passenger talent show during a nude cruise — and had a standing ovation?

Each of those situations, and many, many more, are part and parcel of the nude life for us, and have been for a long time. All our best friends are folks we see most often when they have not a stitch on, and we’re just as comfortable and at ease with them and with ourselves when we’re all nude as any other group of good friends would be sitting at a TGI Friday’s fully dressed.

Is this ‘normal?’

Is it sensible / rational / acceptable for adults to accept others as friends / fellow humans in their natural state, without the contrivances and artificiality that textiles confer upon us when we’re dressed?

Those of us who live and love the nude life would argue strongly that it is — if not “normal” in the common sense of the word — that it is something that humans are very adaptable to, and in fact, are more suited toward.

Standing among a group of good friends and discussing matters great and small, nude, is something that is very intoxicating about the nude life. Relaxing in summer’s heat in Nature’s own couture among your fellow skinnydippers, or spending a cool evening in a warm a steamy hot tub with a group of other carefree nudist friends — all of these are experiences that have become second-nature to us after all these years and which we would not like to live without in the future.

Well, we’ll soon be able to scratch another nude “to-do” off our list: nude roller skating!

Here in the depths of dreary winter, our club goes to great lengths to find fun things to do until summer beckons us back outdoors with her warmth and light. We use just about any excuse we can think of to hold indoor nude parties during the cooler months, including all the major and minor holidays: Mardi Gras, SuperBowl, Holiday, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween and many others.

We also are constantly on the lookout for places we can rent out for a night for our exclusive use, and that has led us to some great events in the past. A nude New Year’s Eve in a rented party barn with a live DJ, disco ball and a huge pot-luck feast, for example, and even nude WhirlyBall — which you have to see to believe.

And now, we will soon be able to add to our list of kookie things we’ve done nude a night of nude roller skating. Our club has rented out a local roller rink for a Sunday night in early March, and we’re hoping for a big turnout from our own members as well as members of other clubs in the area.

It will certainly be the first time many, many of us have been up on skates in several decades (if not more) — nude or clothed! But it just sounds like too much fun to pass up, and besides, spending a chilly March night with our nudist friends is always better than the alternative, even when it doesn’t involve the likelihood of serious injury!

The actor, that is. Not the doctor that screwed up an entire generation.

Specifically, Leonard Nimoy, the guy with the ears.

Our son (not a nudist but maybe coming closer) turned us on to this website. It seems that Mr. Nimoy is a photographer (did you know that?) and this site highlights some of his work.

This man is either a closet nudist or has an extraordinarily open mind towards concepts of beauty. The link that follows leads to a gallery of photos which have, ah, large ladies as the subject. Other galleries of his work are more conventional but what we found interesting is that he has a sense of beauty usually associated with those of us who like to run around naked in public. And a sense of humor. Rare for a Textile.

He deserves a pat on the back and a hearty “Thank you!” for his efforts. Here’s the link: Leonard Nimoy Photography

- Steve

A few years ago, between marriages and feeling somewhat morose, I took a nude walk along the river. It was a winter day but comfortable and sunny.

I came upon a woman sitting by a campfire she had built to ward off the chill, and said howdy. She invited me to join her and we chatted for quite some time.

Now, here I am on a romantic beach with an attractive naked woman. Did I hit on her? No. Did she hit on me? No.

The really strange thing is that we just interacted like two adults, enjoyed each other’s company, and shared a nice afternoon. Naked.

Shouldn’t we have fallen upon each other and had wild and passionate sex? I mean, isn’t that what nudity is all about?

Instead, we behaved like any two mature adults would had they met in a coffee shop.

That sure doesn’t fit the average picture of what the general public has of nudists, does it? Hedonists!

Now, to be totally honest, looking back those few years, I really don’t know why we didn’t have wild and passionate sex on the beach. But you know what? I guess we just didn’t need to.

What we had was a man and a woman sharing some time together without the sexual connotations that usually mar relationships between them. And we were naked!

Does this not fly in the face of everything we have been raised to believe?

I don’t know how to wrap up this story. I just know that there is a profound wisdom learned here, something to do with the ridiculous idea that less clothing equals sexual promiscuity. That’s absurd.

I’m still trying to end this thing. I guess I just have to say that the afternoon with that woman was really nice. Guys are always hitting on women, even when they don’t know it. I think it’s in our genes. This was an afternoon when I actually enjoyed the company of a woman without feeling the need to hit on her. Does that make sense?

Angie’s going to kill me when she reads this, unless I’ve managed to express what I meant to say correctly.

- Steve

I saw one of those tawdry tabloids at the supermarket yesterday. You know the kind. The cover was plastered with photos of, well, people that didn’t exactly look like models in their swimsuits, with captions that absolutely delighted in how ‘bad’ they looked.

How sad that anyone could find pleasure in mocking someone’s physical appearance. And they think we’re the sick ones.

These poor creatures live in a world of sexual hype based on beauty, makeup, clothing and body ‘quality’. They see everything as sexual and miss the most beautiful part of anyone’s body; the part between the ears. The mind, the personality are hidden from them because of their obsession with ‘beauty’.

Of course they see social nudity as some sort of sexual obsession. They see nudity only as something sexual.

And they savage us because we do not suffer from their affliction. Sure, we recognize physical beauty, but don’t see it as the be-all and end-all. We enjoy the pleasures of nudity and are more than willing to allow the the same of others, regardless of ‘appearance’.

We don’t ask that textiles join us (though that would be nice!), just that they allow us that freedom as we allow them the freedom to wear uncomfortable clothing.

Is that so much to ask?

- Steve