Somewhere, probably in the state of Michigan, there is a man who made an
impression on me that some ten years have only made sharper and more clearly
vivid. He is one of the best soldiers in the nudist cause I have ever met. I do
not know his name or his home club, - if anyone who sees this recognizes him,
please let me know.
When I met him he was perhaps fifty. He had a firm powerful voice which carried so well that he seems almost to be lecturing when he wasn't. He carried a little extra weight well and on the whole he was an impressive figure.
We met at Sunny Rest Lodge about ten years ago, shortly after the airport had been opened for the first time. My impression is that he had flown in from Michigan, but this may be incorrect. He was definitely from the middle west and his name was not one which I recognized at the time as conspicuous in the nudist movement.
When I met him he was perhaps fifty. He had a firm powerful voice which carried so well that he seems almost to be lecturing when he wasn't. He carried a little extra weight well and on the whole he was an impressive figure.
We met at Sunny Rest Lodge about ten years ago, shortly after the airport had been opened for the first time. My impression is that he had flown in from Michigan, but this may be incorrect. He was definitely from the middle west and his name was not one which I recognized at the time as conspicuous in the nudist movement.
It was one of those raw, clammy days which can come to the East in the late spring or early fall and make nudist activity a marginal proposition at the best. Late in the afternoon there was a volleyball game in progress between a few Sunny Rest regulars, a pilot or two who had flown in to see the nudist park, and a scattering of other visitors. The chill in the air was discouraging and the game was less an entertainment than an attempt to keep warm.
The man from Michigan, however, was determined to see that the visitors were not discouraged by the temperature. He talked heartily about the nudist life, about the many advantages which it offers. He pointed out that clothes sometimes make the body more uncomfortable, ha talked about the discomfort of tight trousers and the confinement of heavy leather shoes (few males would give him an argument on that one).
Meanwhile it got cooler. At last the uncomfortable fact could be no longer overlooked, particularly by the man from Michigan who had on a T shirt at the time.
"It's getting cooler," he declared, "time to take something off!"
He peeled off the T shirt and returned to the game, explaining that now,
with his body not trying to adjust to two different temperature levels, he
would be much more comfortable. What's more everyone believed him, I began to
feel more comfortable myself.
So far as I know this gentleman was not an officer in any club,
regional, or national organization. He was simply, and proudly, a nudist. But
what a good nudist he was! He had discovered nudism's virtues and he was out to
help others find them too. We need him, we need ten thousand more like him. He
was plain ordinary club member, Mr. nudist citizen, uncelebrated as a pioneer,
club president, camp owner, or elected official, but he was a staunch bulwark
of nudist living, a man to be admired.
This was all a decade ago. Today, out of many thousands of nudists I have met he stands out. I wish I could see him again so I could shake his hand.
This was all a decade ago. Today, out of many thousands of nudists I have met he stands out. I wish I could see him again so I could shake his hand.
Donald Johnson
(Source: The Bulletin, Volume
12, Number 3, March, 1963)
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