Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Stories from VVRC (Part 1)

A quick story from me, and a quick story from a new guest blogger in part 2.

We spent 4th of July weekend at VVRC and had a great time, as usual. We met up with Alice and Bob again and had perfect weather this time around. (Last time, it was opening weekend and very cold.)

A few days prior to our trip, I had a frightening message come in from Bob: "Are you the Academic Naturist?" My first thought, as usual, is "what did I write and will he be angry about it?" Most people, when they stumble upon my blog, always seem to find something that I've done wrong and get upset about it. I was afraid that I had lost some good friends, again.

To my surprise, Bob thought it was neat (and sufficiently anonymous). He also admitted to being a writer. Hmmm... I have an idea forming.

Quite frankly, I've been too busy. The project at my day job has kept me working anywhere from 50 hours to 75 hours per week over the last six months, with a deadline that resembles a carrot on a stick that I can never quite catch. Spare time is at a premium, and my priorities often leave blogging in the dust. With that in mind, I asked Bob to write up a story and he eagerly accepted.

The intent was that he'd write the story of our visit. But, the story of our visit brings forth some very touchy subjects that he didn't dare write about. I don't blame him a bit. Instead, he wrote a story from the past with a unique observation and conclusion that easily fits into my "academic" category. His story is part 2, posted tomorrow. I hope he sends more my way, whenever inspiration hits.

Back to those touchy subjects... I've been very indecisive about telling that story, too. However, I'm one of the few naturist bloggers who take pride in keeping a journal of my naturist adventures on a public blog. The journal would have a large hole in it if I didn't write this story, so here it goes!

We met a couple who shared a cabin with Alice and Bob. We didn't recognize them, but they recognized us and didn't say anything that night. (Don't you hate when that happens!) Leaving many details aside, they broke the resort rules by getting frisky in the shared cabin fully knowing that they were not alone and not hidden from view. It's not as bad as you may be thinking, but bad enough to reasonably warrant a complaint. They had a strict talking-to from the resort staff. (Thank you VVRC staff -- keep up the good work of cracking down on people like this!) However, they were not kicked out. The female left for work, and the male awkwardly remained in the cabin.

The male told Bob all about knowing us. Bob relayed this information to me. The female works near Percilla, and the male works near me. We didn't care, but apparently this frightened both of them.

The male approached Percilla and I while we were sitting on the steps in the pool. I knew it was the start of a delightful conversation when he started with: "I've always believed that the best defense is a strong offense." I knew the outcome of this conversation, and I knew it wouldn't be pretty for him. He continued by telling us that he has a very high-ranking position, that nobody knows they are naturists due to their bosses/coworkers being extremely against that sort of thing, that the female knows everyone Percilla works with, that he knows everyone I work with, and that he'd like to keep the naturism thing a secret. I promised that I wouldn't tell anybody, simply because I'm a nice guy and respect his wishes. He was being as polite as possible while obviously threatening me.

He then asked, far too late in the conversation, if we've told anyone that we're naturists. Percilla spoke up and said "everyone -- friends, family, coworkers, even my boss who knows I'm here today." He responded in udder disbelief, "Really!!!?" I chimed in with a similar line. At that moment, he knew he had absolutely nothing on us. Indeed, the best defense is a strong offense. He'd s--t a brick if he knew I was a blogger and was telling the story to a global audience.

Later on, he approached Percilla when she was alone and asked for our contact information. She only pointed him in my direction. A while later, with PDA in hand, he sat next to me and asked for our contact info and he'd give us his. I simply said, "We'll see you here." He froze for a moment, said "OK -- fair enough", and left.

There's a great lesson in this story, and it's about information management. If he had never said that he knew us, we would've never known. Instead, he told me enough about himself (while making threats) that I could hop online and find his full name, address, phone number, workplace, position, and just about anything else that is public information. What does he have on us? Our first names and where we work -- pulling more information would be difficult, but not impossible. Our workplaces don't publish a directory publicly.

There's also something to be said about respect for "closet naturists". Most naturists will not repeat names or talk about others while in the textile public. Even if we knew our neighbors or coworkers were naturists, we wouldn't repeat it to others unless we knew it was OK. It's a sort of naturist ethical guideline. If someone is worried about it, a confirmation of respecting privacy is all that is needed -- not idle threats.

Despite that one couple, we still had a great time at VVRC! Great weather, great company, and an entertaining campground. We'll be back soon!

7 comments:

Rick said...

Glad you were able to take a break and get away for a weekend.

Good story, one that points out how trying to keep our activities secret complicates our lives. When I was in the service I was deeply into a "culture of secrecy" due to my duties but it crept into my private life as well and stayed with me years after I left the service.

If I'd been a naturist then, I certainly would not have wanted my coworkers or higher ups to know.

I've since put the "culture of secrecy" behind me and strive to be open and upfront about my activities. I've found it to be much less complicated that way.

DARIO WESTERN said...

I reckon if there is something going on in your life that you don't want others to know about, then you must not do it in the first place.

Naturists need to be honest and open with all and sundry about their lifestyle - stop being ashamed of it!

Hank said...

Academic, it's more serious than you think if he has your workplace.

You and Percilla must both spread the fake story at work that some weirdo is stalking your girlfriend. In case he tries to get more info on you at work or blackmail you both. Then anything he tells them is disregarded.

Next time you see him, write down his car license plate number.

Next time, Need to Know only!

Academic Naturist said...

Hank, it's not as serious as you think.

First of all, we're both "out" naturists. People know we participate in nude recreation and nobody cares (once they actually understand what it is.) This includes coworkers and bosses. He has absolutely nothing that he can blackmail us with.

Second, I have more info about him. I know where he works, his job position, and his home information. I also happen to know that his boss especially is very against nudity. So, I think he knows better than to try anything against us. No fake stories needed!

I'm not worried about him.

Anonymous said...

You might not worry about him but don't you feel any sympathy for your fellow nudists and nudism in general to stop this guy before he harms someone else?

Anonymous said...

Sorry that you had your weekend marred by those folks, hopefully they won't be back. Valley View doesn't need them.

Unfortunately, we've seen 'untoward' behaviour on occasion at otherwise 'family friendly' venues, one notably in southeastern Wisconsin. It seems that standards of behaviour vary a bit from venue to venue, time and place.

As formerly mainstream resorts move towards Hedonism for the money we will probably see more of this. That's a shame.

There has never been a shortage of places for people to have sex, but it's downright hard to find a place where you can just be naked without having sex!

Anonymous said...

"Most people, when they stumble upon my blog, always seem to find something that I've done wrong"

Your blog is great! The only thing I hate is opening a new tab to read & write comments & switching tabs between story & comments. Google should have comments visible below the story on the blog's main page as the default so no programming on the part of the blogger if they want to change it.