Nudist Family Values – 20/20 style

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Clothesbegone

Just in case you missed it here’s a link to the video segment until ABC moves it: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/reamers-nudist-camp-family-naked-children-parenting-16283741

Though I don’t care for the context of “extreme” I found the interview itself to be about as well balanced as you could expect from a major news outlet.

Now some might complain that 20/20 didn’t trot out the very best of the nudist apologetic on our behalf as if it was our own promo. At the same time they did not go out of their way to trot out our detractors to put the spin on. Instead they quote “experts” that (and I paraphrase here) children are not harmed by exposure to simple nudity. The reporter acknowledged being uncomfortable but that shouldn’t be surprising. I especially liked how they handled the older boy’s preference for clothing. He has the freedom to clothe.

Now if we could just persuade the general public to offer us the same courtesy of freedom from clothes.

I don’t know if any of the major nudist organizations were asked their opinion or not but I thought this might be an appropriate time to reinforce what has already been stated about families, children, and nudism completely independent of any current events.

From AANR: http://www.aanr.com/nudist-family-values

From TNS (see section down the page titled “Is naturism appropriate for families?”): http://www.naturist.com/tns/about/FAQ.html

And this piece from our neighbors to the North – the FCN: http://www.fcn.ca/about-naturism/faqs/children-and-naturism

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Doctors, Lawyers, Bakers, and Candlestick Makers

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Clothesbegone

My goodness – it’s been quite a while since my last post. If I were of the Catholic persuasion I might include the phrase “bless me Father for I have sinned”. I do hope I haven’t offended anyone with that.

So what have I been up to? I have to confess it hasn’t been anything earth shattering for the nudist community. Some of you may cringe while others may rejoice when I tell you but you see that’s one of the beauties of the nudist community – the amazing diversity. So what have I been doing? My wife have been very involved with helping to plant a new church in Northern Virginia and it’s been both exhausting and exciting being a part of something brand new with all hands on deck. One interesting thing to note is that while I haven’t exactly shouted from the rooftops at church that I’m a nudist I have added several folks from church to my Facebook page (where I make no effort to hide the fact that I’m a nudist) and so far there’s been nary a peep about it.

Of the several hats that I’m wearing presently a couple of them involve working with a couple of different groups of “Christian Naturists” (both www.naturist-christians.org and www.christiannc.com). While AANR (among other things) tried to be a bridge between nudists and the society at large Christian Naturists attempt to build bridges between the church at large and those nudists who happen to be Christian. One potential benefit of these efforts is to be able to dialog with those “religious” people who vilify nudists on so called moral grounds. Christian Nudists may not be able to persuade them of their error but at least we can try to speak their language and some may be persuaded or at least come to realize that we aren’t all a bunch of sex crazed nuts going from one orgy to the next.

Oh, one more thing. If you happen to be in Northern Virginia you’re more then welcome to join us at church (www.reactionchurch.org) where we certainly won’t judge you. Aside from an invitation however I’m doing a little social experiment here to see if I anyone at church notices the ping from this blog. If anyone from church stumbles on this blog let me know in the comments okay?

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Fall Colors

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Clothesbegone

In my neck of the woods Summer has just about lost it’s grip and Fall is about ready to hit it’s stride. Soon an interstate highway near me will be clogged on the weekend with tourists out to enjoy the colorful leaves and all the while I gradually lose my tan and take on my own drab Fall Colors.

During the Summer I sometimes envy those of you who live close enough to a nude or clothing optional beach to enjoy it regularly. Except for perhaps the parking it’s usually inexpensive and easily enjoyed by those with tighter budgets. As the days grow shorter and colder I wonder some of you do to beat back the Winter doldrums and enjoy some “naked time”. I’m fortunate enough to belong to a non-landed club (Capital Area Family Naturists) that is quite inexpensive and I’m also within a reasonable drive to two nice year round landed clubs (Avalon and White Tail Resort).

I still see some folks on the internet repeat a tired and out-dated mantra that AANR is all about the clubs and TNS is more for the free beaches and public lands. I don’t subscribe to that at all but regardless what about when it’s too cold to enjoy those beaches and public lands? Isn’t it patently obvious during this time of year that we really are all in the same boat? How about supporting your local landed clubs if you can afford it as well as a local non-landed club or reach out and find like minded people to form a new club?

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Bringing out the best in us

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Clothesbegone

Over the past couple of weeks I feel a bit like I’ve experienced sensory overload with reports of a variety of experiences – many of them tragic – from folks dealing with earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and most recently the focus on the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling a bit numbed by it all but at the same time find myself inspired by the way so many people have risen to the occasion to reach out and help those in need.

With very few exceptions nobody stops to ask about politics, religion, or in the case of nudists which groups they may or may not pay dues to. If our neighbor’s home has been crushed by a tree, or flooded or washed away, etc. most of us will do our best to help out. This seems to hold true both for individuals and in many cases communities of all sizes.

I love what one of my Facebook friends (Melissa) wrote on her wall recently and I think it bears repeating – “Today, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11, I choose not to grieve the loss of who we once were. Instead, I choose to be thankful for those who I love and who love me. I choose to hug a little longer, hold a little closer, and praise a little louder those who help me and those who will receive my help. Choose love and life, not evil and destruction… today and every day.”

I want to challenge all of us to remember this principle the next time you’re tempted to think in terms of “us vs them” because especially in the nudist community “them is us”.

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Remember your Roots…

Posted on August 26, 2011 by Clothesbegone

I had the privilege last week of sitting in on an all day workshop just prior to the regular AANR-East Summer meeting. An outside consultant was brought in to facilitate what I thought were some very productive work group sessions. This workshop was quite timely after my post last time that dealt with vision. The group was divided into four teams to brainstorm on various subjects dealing with re-imagining an organization from it’s very foundation up. If we can stay out of our own way I have high hopes for what eventually emerge from that day for AANR-East and perhaps beyond.

At one point the question was asked “are you an organization or a movement?” and I thought that perhaps we were both. I reminded folks that none of the current structures of “organized nudism” that we have today would exist were it not for the movement that gave them birth.

A part of my own personal vision is that more key folks in all of the organizational structures both new and old would remember our roots and if you haven’t been around long enough to remember those roots then do some primary research to discover them. As all organizations struggle with membership and closely related fiscal issues we need to remember the passion of our first love with nudism and naturism. I’m firmly convinced that if principled and passionate people are willing to lead with less concern about who is in charge then the rest will follow. Don’t support organizations for incidental perks like car, travel, and flower discounts but rather support them because you support the dream.

Now – you organizations – we want to believe – set the pace and help us believe!

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What do you see?

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Clothesbegone

Last time I mentioned that I was looking forward to AvalonFest 2011 and I have to say that the weekend did not disappoint. My wife and I both agreed that it was the best that we had been to so far – be sure to make your reservations early for next year. As great as the music festival was it’s not really the focus of today’s topic.

In the midst of the general awesomeness that was AvalonFest I had the opportunity to sit down with “Jordan” and “Felicity” who are the most visible leadership of the fledgeling YNA (Young Naturists of America which is apparently aka YNNA – Young Naturists and Naturists America). I put their names in quotes because both names are acknowledged pen names and I’m happy to comply with their desire to remain anonymous.

The purpose of this post is not so much to plug a particular group though I think it’s great when young naturists step up to the plate as I’ve mentioned in an earlier post. What I want to touch on instead is what can happen with a powerful combination of drive, passion, vision, and action.

One side effect of my conversation with Jordan was to remind me of the “vision” that I wrote several months ago and to stimulate some self reflection on how well I’m putting feet to the vision and where I might improve. Thanks Jordan for that stimulating “iron sharpens iron” conversation.

Here’s my vision: “My vision (or perhaps more accurately a dream) is for the nudist community (of which AANR is a part) is so successful at influencing public attitudes and advocating for better legislation that we work ourselves right out of a job and the most we have to worry about is organizing the next potluck, dance, or other activity. The realist in me recognizes that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance so I also dream that various nudist organizations find more ways to collaborate rather than compete and that more folks would ask what they can do for their nudist organizations rather than what their organizations can do for them.”

What’s your vision?

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Less Taxing

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Clothesbegone

The timing may be different in your neck of the woods but lately I’ve been seeing a lot of advertising encouraging parents and older students to take advantage of tax free shopping for a variety of supplies and clothing in preparation of the coming school year. I’m all for saving a few bucks and I recognize that for reasons that remain a mystery to me a significant portion of the population seems to get energized by shopping and all the more so when there is an opportunity to save money.

Personally I find shopping to be taxing in the sense that with perhaps the exception of gadgets, tools, and electronics the whole shopping experience seems to suck the life out of me. Similarly with the economy as it is I’m painfully aware of how those who still have jobs are expected to work ever harder which is quite taxing.

This weekend I’m going to have a less taxing weekend at Avalon where the hills will once again be alive with music for AvalonFest 2011. If you have back to school shopping to do why not do it online and retreat to your local AANR club or resort for your own less taxing weekend?

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Beat the Heat

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Clothesbegone

It seems that everywhere I look lately I see news reports from all over that focus on just how hot it is and how it feels even hotter. One humorous post mentioned that potatoes were baking underground and chickens were laying hard boiled eggs. I’m seriously thinking about frying some eggs on the sidewalk myself.

Does anyone remember those cold days? I seem to recall all kinds of advice on saving money and energy in the winter. One piece of advice that seems to come around every year is to lower the thermostat and to wear extra layers of clothing to compensate. Why doesn’t the mainstream media make the perfectly obvious suggestion to do just the opposite in the summer? Turn up the thermostat and wear less clothes – duh! Why should it take a nudist to remember the obvious?

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could extend the concept to more public locations? How about a top ten list of advantages to going nude in the summer?

Less laundry
More vitamin D
No problem with sweat stains!
Every day is casual day
Less luggage when traveling (go nakations!)

Who can help fill out the top ten? I’ve gotten us halfway there..

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A whole lot of hoopin’ going on

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Clothesbegone

This past Saturday the wife and I had the privilege of attending the annual Bull Roast held at Maheso – one of our local landed clubs. We were delighted to be able to fit this event into our schedule this year since we had unavoidable conflicts for about the last 3 years.

The weather was darned near perfect, the pool was warm, and as usual there was a sizable fun crowd – the owner was pleased with a larger crowd than the year before. We were also greeted with a buffet line of a significant assortment of yummy food. This much was pretty much what we have come to expect based on prior events though one can never predict the weather and we consider it quite a bargain and not much more than the average cost of club day fees.

New to us this year was the addition of a surprisingly good retro band that kept our feet tapping and some folks dancing to the tune of a variety of classic rock and roll tunes. I would have paid a cover charge just to hear the band!

I seem to recall some games for the kiddos in past years but I hadn’t ventured from the pool to witness those events and they must have been out of earshot or I might have wandered over when I heard them start. This year a recruiter was making the rounds encouraging folks to participate in pudding fling, egg toss and what I can only assume were similarly messy games (not a problem when you’re nude and there’s a hose nearby) but once I was just having too much fun in the pool to venture out.

What did catch my attention was a hula hoop contest that was partly visible from the pool if you peeked through the crowd. Within about 10-15 seconds I could tell that most of the participants were at about my skill level or slightly above. At this point two contestants remained and I kept watching absent-mindedly to see who would win out. Have you ever been by an arcade when a “pinball wizard” was working his or her art and seen the crowd of spectators grow? In more recent years I’ll occasionally see someone crushing one of dance games – I think you get the idea. This is what happened with these two women (c’mon guys – represent!) – after about the third time the band played the same song these ladies weren’t even breaking a sweat! If this had been a reality tv show they would have had to break for a commercial but I had time to get out of the pool for a closer look. Finally I think one of them just decided to stop and defer to the young lady who had won the previous two years. I think maybe I could twiddle my thumbs for that long but I’m not sure.

Have you seen any mad skills at your local club? Let us know!

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Got Game? For some all you need is your laptop and a towel

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Clothesbegone

I just had to share a link to this article I stumbled across thanks to the ever watchful eye of the AANR-East webmaster: http://www.gamingupdate.com/articles/72/Nude-Gamers-have-Nothing-Up-Their-Sleeves-as-a-Hoax-Cre

I thought this was a nicely written and researched article and the event itself sounds like a ton of fun. I’m not really a gamer in terms of multi-player games (though I play plenty of games on the ‘puter) but I think I might give it a try for a chance at nude gaming. What a great way of drawing in a younger trending demographic.

What other brilliant ideas are floating out there?

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