It's been a really long time since my last trip to Mazo (1.5 months). I wouldn't have gone since my girlfriend couldn't go (and I don't like to go alone), but the road cleanup makes the lonely trip worthwhile. I'll talk about that later...
Kingpin doesn't have a computer. Since my last visit, someone printed out this season (S2, E1-5) of Mazo Manor and gave it to him. Note that I write this blog in such a way that I know everyone can see it, so I try to be fair in protecting privacy and choosing what details to share. I knew Kingpin would see it eventually, along with everyone else I talk about. Soon after Labor Day weekend, I got a letter in the mail from Kingpin and he was angry. (Actually, he's still angry from last winter.)
Why was he angry? It wasn't because I had insulted him in any way. Nowhere in his letter did he indicate that he was offended by anything I've said about him. In fact, he even liked that I called his camera use "trustworthy and responsible". He seemed to like his nickname as well.
His reason for writing was to "correct" some of my "facts" that I say in my dramatized posts. He did correct a few of the things I said, simply because he knows more than me on some subjects, but all were fairly unimportant. My interpretation of Bambi and friend was quite wrong. Will I correct it? No. Will I correct the other stuff? Probably not, since it's not important. I'm sure the story writers for Meerkat Manor get the stories incorrect on occasion too. A majority of the letter was about things I really don't care about, or of things where I know he has no clue what he's talking about, or just plain slander. He loves including meaningless slander, and has admitted that he says a lot to just get people riled up. This completely matches his writing style from last winter. I didn't bring it up before, but since he's at it again I think it's fair. I'll be honest in saying that my response most likely upset him. Tit-for-two-tats is my typical strategy, let's see if it works. (Kingpin's is typically Grim Trigger, so it probably won't.)
Speaking of trash talk, let's get back to the road cleanup! We didn't have the biggest crew this time (9), but we were very efficient. After the doughnut breakfast from the back of Captain Planet's truck, we paired off and stated landmarks that we would work between. The day was shaping up to be beautiful, and the walk down the sides of the road wasn't bad at all.
We found a lot of strange stuff, but the best was an item that my partner found. He picked up a CD and read the label. "Sex Pistols". I pointed out that it's a band. Once I saw it, I realized that it certainly wasn't the band! It was an "interactive DVD" with a lot of adult imagery on the front! There were a couple of CD-R's that were found as well, but it's unknown what they contain. One I looked at had about 100 MB of something burned to it, based on the width of the ring.
We were done picking up trash in a couple of hours. We piled the trash in one spot, took a picture, and were off to Culvers for our free scoops of ice cream. We shared some of the odd things that were found. The DVD took the prize. We also found a medical bracelet from someone's hospital stay, with all the info on it. There were a few unopened bottles of beer, and an unopened bottle of salad dressing. Captain Planet found a YMCA club card with the name and photo of a person who used to frequent the beach many years ago. He plans to return it to him in person and catch up on old times.
Since it ended up a beautiful day, we headed for the beach. The first thing that I noticed was only one of the Elders was there -- EagleEye. (Note to those who are easily offended: "Elders" isn't meant to be derogatory. I chose the name since the group has more "beach-days" than any other group, therefore making them wise and all-knowing in regard to the day-to-day activities. The members aren't all that old.)
Since the forecast had been shaky, there weren't many people at the beach and they were all guys until our group showed up. I sat in a group with Captain Planet, Holler and Screech, and the couple that helped us the most previously. (I understand that Holler and Screech could be considered offensive. But seriously, can you think of a more fitting nickname for each of them?) After hearing the report that the water was clean and not too cold, I wanted to head down and enjoy it for a bit. Stories were being told, however, and I didn't want to miss those. Ask Captain Planet sometime about how a group went bar-hopping naked in a hot tub in the middle of winter.
I eventually made it to the water with two of the guys.While we were standing there, Holler felt something strange under his foot and dug through the sand under the water to pull it out. A wallet! Complete with credit cards and a license, but no cash. (Others in the group are working to get it back to the owner. I'll check up on that during the Halloween party.) When a muskrat swam directly toward us from the island and dove under the water about 15 feet away, we decided to not be in its way. The water was a little cold and we needed to warm up for a while anyway.
As the sun got low and the clouds rolled in, we decided that it was time to go. Back in the parking lot, yet another thing was found -- a ring of keys. (It was on the DNR board, so someone else found it.) Two keys (with clickers) looked like they went to nice cars, and a lot of the other keys looked important. They didn't unlock any of the cars in the parking lot. The only thing we could really do is put them back and hope that the owner turns up.
Do I anticipate another trip to the beach this year? It's hard to say... We're at the mercy of Mother Nature. Usually she provides a few Indian Summers before Christmas, and one might get up to the 70's. If it happens, we'll be there to make the most of it! If not, then this post is the conclusion of the season, and possibly the series.
Showing posts with label mazo_manor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mazo_manor. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Mazo Manor - S2E05 - Big Summer Festival (p2)
Previously, on Mazo Manor:
"A battle between the nudes and the textiles was on! .... The tug was dead even for what seemed like several minutes. Muscles were flexing on the rope, and feet were digging into the sand, but both teams held their own without an end in sight. Everyone at the beach was cheering loudly and were at the edge of their towels in anticipation!"
It was a low-balled tactic that finally ended the match. One naturist decided to sneak in at the end of the rope, which added just enough power to slowly overcome the textiles. The cheering got twice as loud as the naturists pulled to victory. The bikini girls didn't notice the below-the-belt ploy and never demanded a rematch. I gave the winners two tickets each this time. The bikini girls decided to stay on the beach (in the water) and mingle with the naturists for the next hour or so. As far as I could tell, they loved it just as much as we did. They have a good story to tell their friends when they get home...
The Elders were surprisingly quiet this year. Normally they cash in on the free food and remain active spectators. This year they kept to themselves entirely. We challenged Kingpin to some lawn games, and he declined as expected. Smokey was there to relax. He had his headphones on and tuned out everything. He at least talked with us for a few minutes when we challenged him to a game.
Another person I spotted at the beach was Boots. I didn't notice Tank around but the beach was busy so she might've been. I didn't get a chance to ask him how the trip went. He also didn't play any games.
There were several people that got games in during the last two hours. One notable group was two guys and two girls, all about our age and attractive. I've met them before at the beach and at the car show, so I knew they were swingers. It was obvious anyway since they often made flirty vulgar comments during the games. The photographer took pictures of them playing the games.
Note: I know I mention vulgar comments a lot recently. It's important to know that I always talk about the few instances that I witness. Almost all of the conversations and interactions at the beach are not at all vulgar or flirty. If kids are around, the conversations are always clean. This is a good reason to bring kids to the public beaches -- it helps to enforce a family friendly environment.
As I mentioned previously, there was a TNS photographer at the beach. That means the next N will probably carry a few of the pictures from the event. [UPDATE: It didn't, haven't seen them yet (early 2010).] If you see a group of four, with only the women's backsides, it's the group I mentioned above. He also took photos of all tugs, including the one with the bikini girls. (I really hope that one gets included in N!) The last photo I know about is of my girlfriend and I at the game table. I can't wait to see which ones are included, and I'm curious about who is going to do a write-up about it.
After the games, we had the drawing for prizes. About half of the people who won were there, so they were easy to deliver. I sent out all of the rest except one. That one hasn't returned our calls and so we don't have an address. Oh well, I'll recycle it into a prize for something else.
The same couple that brought our stuff in helped bring it out. They helped to pack everything up with both us and Gaia and helped move it to the vehicles. Not only did they drive our stuff to the parking lot (as we walked), they also unloaded most of it into our car by the time we got there. We got their information and have full intent of sending them a "thank you" gift, once we figure out something good to send. I'm sure they have the item mentioned above already.
Late that day, and on Sunday when they served food again, Gaia and Captain Planet picked up some trash around the beach. As expected there really wasn't very much trash left behind by the naturists.
A fun time was had by all, even the ones that didn't really participate. The event went smoothly, and the number of people playing games is about the same as other years. All-in-all, I'd call it a success!
NEXT EPISODE
"A battle between the nudes and the textiles was on! .... The tug was dead even for what seemed like several minutes. Muscles were flexing on the rope, and feet were digging into the sand, but both teams held their own without an end in sight. Everyone at the beach was cheering loudly and were at the edge of their towels in anticipation!"
It was a low-balled tactic that finally ended the match. One naturist decided to sneak in at the end of the rope, which added just enough power to slowly overcome the textiles. The cheering got twice as loud as the naturists pulled to victory. The bikini girls didn't notice the below-the-belt ploy and never demanded a rematch. I gave the winners two tickets each this time. The bikini girls decided to stay on the beach (in the water) and mingle with the naturists for the next hour or so. As far as I could tell, they loved it just as much as we did. They have a good story to tell their friends when they get home...
The Elders were surprisingly quiet this year. Normally they cash in on the free food and remain active spectators. This year they kept to themselves entirely. We challenged Kingpin to some lawn games, and he declined as expected. Smokey was there to relax. He had his headphones on and tuned out everything. He at least talked with us for a few minutes when we challenged him to a game.
Another person I spotted at the beach was Boots. I didn't notice Tank around but the beach was busy so she might've been. I didn't get a chance to ask him how the trip went. He also didn't play any games.
There were several people that got games in during the last two hours. One notable group was two guys and two girls, all about our age and attractive. I've met them before at the beach and at the car show, so I knew they were swingers. It was obvious anyway since they often made flirty vulgar comments during the games. The photographer took pictures of them playing the games.
Note: I know I mention vulgar comments a lot recently. It's important to know that I always talk about the few instances that I witness. Almost all of the conversations and interactions at the beach are not at all vulgar or flirty. If kids are around, the conversations are always clean. This is a good reason to bring kids to the public beaches -- it helps to enforce a family friendly environment.
As I mentioned previously, there was a TNS photographer at the beach. That means the next N will probably carry a few of the pictures from the event. [UPDATE: It didn't, haven't seen them yet (early 2010).] If you see a group of four, with only the women's backsides, it's the group I mentioned above. He also took photos of all tugs, including the one with the bikini girls. (I really hope that one gets included in N!) The last photo I know about is of my girlfriend and I at the game table. I can't wait to see which ones are included, and I'm curious about who is going to do a write-up about it.
After the games, we had the drawing for prizes. About half of the people who won were there, so they were easy to deliver. I sent out all of the rest except one. That one hasn't returned our calls and so we don't have an address. Oh well, I'll recycle it into a prize for something else.
The same couple that brought our stuff in helped bring it out. They helped to pack everything up with both us and Gaia and helped move it to the vehicles. Not only did they drive our stuff to the parking lot (as we walked), they also unloaded most of it into our car by the time we got there. We got their information and have full intent of sending them a "thank you" gift, once we figure out something good to send. I'm sure they have the item mentioned above already.
Late that day, and on Sunday when they served food again, Gaia and Captain Planet picked up some trash around the beach. As expected there really wasn't very much trash left behind by the naturists.
A fun time was had by all, even the ones that didn't really participate. The event went smoothly, and the number of people playing games is about the same as other years. All-in-all, I'd call it a success!
NEXT EPISODE
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Mazo Manor - S2E04 - Big Summer Festival
It was shaping up to be a perfect Saturday. We had a car full of stuff, and were cruising to Mazo early in the morning to meet up with Gaia. Today was the big summer festival!
We brought two tables, a box full of prizes, a shoe rack that doubled as a ticket bucket, two markerboards, and a roll of paper to cover things with so we could write anywhere. Since there were NO volunteers at the event coordination page, we purchased and brought Bocce Ball, Lawn Darts, and LadderBall. This was among a lot of other stuff that we brought. Our car full of stuff was parked, waiting, in the Mazo parking lot.
It was a lousy start to the day when we watched a big white truck roll in, go around the parking lot, then floor it on the way out to spray gravel all over. (No cars were hit.) I also checked the porta-potty while we waited, and discovered that all of my posters were gone again. We called Gaia at the time she was supposed to be there, and she hadn't left the house yet. She was waiting on someone else (who had a big truck) to give them a ride, and they were about a half hour away. We waited some more, and watched people trickle into the parking lot. Some people, especially the Elders, are impressive with how much they can fit on a bike. During our wait, Gaia called a couple who were on their way and told them we need help in transporting stuff. When they arrived we quickly loaded up their car. They used their gate key to drive to the beach while we walked. (This is the legal way to do it.)
At the beach, we unloaded their car and I snuck into the porta-potties. Both had the posters still there, which cast a big shadow of doubt on my idea of who was taking them. Where all the other posters went still remains a mystery.
Setting up the tables, it quickly became apparent that the Mazokats had no idea that it was Nude Recreation Weekend. We had advertised on all the common websites and Yahoo groups, emailed the thousands in the FOMB distribution list, taken lots of phone calls from Nude Rec Week advertisements, and often (or sometimes?) had posters at the beach porta-potties. Despite this, a majority of the 500 people who were there had no idea. Many hadn't even heard of TNS either. Also, nobody was there for the AANR skinny dip as far as I could tell, which is a good thing because we did NOT participate in that.
Instead, we were graced with the presence of Gaia, Captain Planet, CatHerder, and a TNS photographer. For those who don't know my character name mapping, they are all TNS or TNS affiliated. If my two tables were a shack, then their setup would be a mansion. They brought 2 grills, about 4 large tables, and about 4 more smaller ones, 2 gazebos for shade, an official tug-of-war rope, a huge stack of boxes and coolers for food, and a large wheelbarrow with a fat sand tire to shuttle it all from the overloaded truck. Combine that with the potluck they encouraged, and they had a free all-you-can-eat buffet with a better selection that most restaurants! It went so well that they did it again Sunday just to use up the leftovers!
My side of the event was the games, and they were going poorly thus far. The Contenders fulfilled their promise of bringing two volleyball nets -- one for the "pros" and one for the "special olympics". Captain Planet had the tug-of-war rope. We had the 3 lawn games we purchased. Nobody else brought games. And other than the Contender's usual games, nobody else was looking to play. I even sent my trusty girlfriend around the beach to let people know what was going on and to recruit people for games. Many went for the free lunch, but chickened out of the games.
I asked Gaia what was normal for game play. She said that after people have lunch, they are in a better mood for playing games. This was partly true. We had many different people play the lawn games. Almost nobody played the normal-person volleyball though, even though the Contenders and I both hear people complain that they'd play if it weren't for the pro's. They had their chance to play today, on their own net and with people of similar non-pro skills, but only a couple did. We tried and tried to get games started.
A good chunk of the tickets for prizes went to several people who brought food, and many who played lawn games. The rest were given out to the winners of the most popular game...
Mid-afternoon, Captain Planet declared a war... a tug-of-war! The rope was laid out along the edge of the water, and about 16 people piled on for the first tug. Soon after, the count was over 20 for the second tug and people were getting tired. It was break-time for a while.
Mazo beach wasn't the only popular one that Saturday. People were camped out on all the beaches we could see across the river. Many were on the island in the middle too, including three hovercrafts. (Cool! We want a ride!) The island that many naturists walk to (but shouldn't) also had a number of textiles, including a group of 8 cute college-age girls in bikinis and one guy with them.
My girlfriend gets super bonus points for setting up the most memorable event the beach has ever seen! On her own, she decided to wander over and talk to that group of young girls. Before I knew it, they were front and center on our beach and picking a fight. They were picking up one end of the rope, and several naturists (both guys and girls) were picking up the other end. A battle between the nudes and the textiles was on!
Of course, the naturists outnumbered the girls, so a few joined on their side to balance things out. Soon enough, the pull was on! Would the bikini girls kick the bronzed naturist butts? Or would the team everyone cheered for prove to be the true Olympians? The tug was dead even for what seemed like several minutes. Muscles were flexing on the rope, and feet were digging into the sand, but both teams held their own without an end in sight. Everyone at the beach was cheering loudly and were at the edge of their towels in anticipation!
To Be Continued....
NEXT EPISODE
We brought two tables, a box full of prizes, a shoe rack that doubled as a ticket bucket, two markerboards, and a roll of paper to cover things with so we could write anywhere. Since there were NO volunteers at the event coordination page, we purchased and brought Bocce Ball, Lawn Darts, and LadderBall. This was among a lot of other stuff that we brought. Our car full of stuff was parked, waiting, in the Mazo parking lot.
It was a lousy start to the day when we watched a big white truck roll in, go around the parking lot, then floor it on the way out to spray gravel all over. (No cars were hit.) I also checked the porta-potty while we waited, and discovered that all of my posters were gone again. We called Gaia at the time she was supposed to be there, and she hadn't left the house yet. She was waiting on someone else (who had a big truck) to give them a ride, and they were about a half hour away. We waited some more, and watched people trickle into the parking lot. Some people, especially the Elders, are impressive with how much they can fit on a bike. During our wait, Gaia called a couple who were on their way and told them we need help in transporting stuff. When they arrived we quickly loaded up their car. They used their gate key to drive to the beach while we walked. (This is the legal way to do it.)
At the beach, we unloaded their car and I snuck into the porta-potties. Both had the posters still there, which cast a big shadow of doubt on my idea of who was taking them. Where all the other posters went still remains a mystery.
Setting up the tables, it quickly became apparent that the Mazokats had no idea that it was Nude Recreation Weekend. We had advertised on all the common websites and Yahoo groups, emailed the thousands in the FOMB distribution list, taken lots of phone calls from Nude Rec Week advertisements, and often (or sometimes?) had posters at the beach porta-potties. Despite this, a majority of the 500 people who were there had no idea. Many hadn't even heard of TNS either. Also, nobody was there for the AANR skinny dip as far as I could tell, which is a good thing because we did NOT participate in that.
Instead, we were graced with the presence of Gaia, Captain Planet, CatHerder, and a TNS photographer. For those who don't know my character name mapping, they are all TNS or TNS affiliated. If my two tables were a shack, then their setup would be a mansion. They brought 2 grills, about 4 large tables, and about 4 more smaller ones, 2 gazebos for shade, an official tug-of-war rope, a huge stack of boxes and coolers for food, and a large wheelbarrow with a fat sand tire to shuttle it all from the overloaded truck. Combine that with the potluck they encouraged, and they had a free all-you-can-eat buffet with a better selection that most restaurants! It went so well that they did it again Sunday just to use up the leftovers!
My side of the event was the games, and they were going poorly thus far. The Contenders fulfilled their promise of bringing two volleyball nets -- one for the "pros" and one for the "special olympics". Captain Planet had the tug-of-war rope. We had the 3 lawn games we purchased. Nobody else brought games. And other than the Contender's usual games, nobody else was looking to play. I even sent my trusty girlfriend around the beach to let people know what was going on and to recruit people for games. Many went for the free lunch, but chickened out of the games.
I asked Gaia what was normal for game play. She said that after people have lunch, they are in a better mood for playing games. This was partly true. We had many different people play the lawn games. Almost nobody played the normal-person volleyball though, even though the Contenders and I both hear people complain that they'd play if it weren't for the pro's. They had their chance to play today, on their own net and with people of similar non-pro skills, but only a couple did. We tried and tried to get games started.
A good chunk of the tickets for prizes went to several people who brought food, and many who played lawn games. The rest were given out to the winners of the most popular game...
Mid-afternoon, Captain Planet declared a war... a tug-of-war! The rope was laid out along the edge of the water, and about 16 people piled on for the first tug. Soon after, the count was over 20 for the second tug and people were getting tired. It was break-time for a while.
Mazo beach wasn't the only popular one that Saturday. People were camped out on all the beaches we could see across the river. Many were on the island in the middle too, including three hovercrafts. (Cool! We want a ride!) The island that many naturists walk to (but shouldn't) also had a number of textiles, including a group of 8 cute college-age girls in bikinis and one guy with them.
My girlfriend gets super bonus points for setting up the most memorable event the beach has ever seen! On her own, she decided to wander over and talk to that group of young girls. Before I knew it, they were front and center on our beach and picking a fight. They were picking up one end of the rope, and several naturists (both guys and girls) were picking up the other end. A battle between the nudes and the textiles was on!
Of course, the naturists outnumbered the girls, so a few joined on their side to balance things out. Soon enough, the pull was on! Would the bikini girls kick the bronzed naturist butts? Or would the team everyone cheered for prove to be the true Olympians? The tug was dead even for what seemed like several minutes. Muscles were flexing on the rope, and feet were digging into the sand, but both teams held their own without an end in sight. Everyone at the beach was cheering loudly and were at the edge of their towels in anticipation!
To Be Continued....
NEXT EPISODE
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Mazo Manor - S2E03 - Everyone Loves Big Melons!
Monday afternoon, the first day of Nude Recreation Week, we took a trip to the beach to check on the signs. Before Eastover, Gaia had put up large posters and lots of mini ones that people could take in each of the three porta-potties. After Eastover, she had to spend some time in a hospital far away from Mazo. If all went well, she'd make it back just in time for the festival. She was scheduled to return to the state Friday night.
I was on poster-duty for this week. When we got there, I was quick to check the first porta-potty. I was disappointed to find the posters missing, but deep down I was expecting that. I decided to not put any new ones up until after the potential culprit(s) left.
While we were in the parking lot, an older couple struck up a conversation with us. We had previously met them at the Halloween party. We must not've talked with them much at the Halloween party, because neither of us remembered them. Oops! We were walking through the gate as they drove through and past us.
They were still unpacking things from their car when we finished the brisk walk though the gauntlet. We chatted more, and they were nice enough to give us the end from their watermelon with a plastic spoon. See -- people at Mazo are far more friendly than at textile beaches!
We all decided to sit together, since the beach was very quiet. (It's always quiet on weekdays.) They were having a good time chatting with us, and we would've been lonely by ourselves. We didn't mind the company.
Our entertainment for the evening were the Elders. (Kingpin and another regular who's often there but newly named: EagleEye.) Sitting next to them was a skinny college-age male who was fairly quiet and a busty college-age female who gets a temporary name: Bambi. In retrospect, I don't think they were a couple since they left the beach about 10 minutes apart. Both seemed to be newbies. She was also wearing makeup, which isn't the norm for females at the beach.
Both Kingpin and EagleEye have cameras. Kingpin has an old film camera, and EagleEye has a digital SLR. Usually they are kept packed away. They are both very trustworthy and responsible for their camera use. They always ask for permission, avoid having people in the background of the photos, and keep camera use to a minimum. EagleEye often is more interested in photographing the wildlife than people.
Before we got to the beach, Kingpin must've talked up Bambi and convinced her to give them permission to photograph her. In the first hour we were there, Bambi had pictures both on the beach and in the water taken from both of the guys from every angle. She was laughing at the occasional vulgar comments from Kingpin (and sometimes returning a few), and seemed to be having a good time as the celebrity of the beach. Although the situation was a little annoying (and distracting) for us, I must admit that she was really cute in the water when the fish were nipping at her toes. She giggled from the tickling, then left the water when the fish started going after other things.
After Bambi and the young guy left, Kingpin set his sights on the other group with nice melons. He talked to the couple we were sitting by because he knew them. He knew us too, but for some reason he didn't want to talk to us...
Soon after, the Elders left the beach, and we knew it was safe to put up some posters. The two porta-potties in the little parking lot had no posters either. I put up what I had in all three porta-potties. I didn't put them in an easy-to-take-down spots either, I had little ones on all sides and one under the TP dispenser that could only be seen when sitting down. (I even covered up the traces of vulgar graffiti that were in two of them -- I wish the DNR could catch the people who do that stuff.) Hopefully the posters would last all week...
NEXT EPISODE
I was on poster-duty for this week. When we got there, I was quick to check the first porta-potty. I was disappointed to find the posters missing, but deep down I was expecting that. I decided to not put any new ones up until after the potential culprit(s) left.
While we were in the parking lot, an older couple struck up a conversation with us. We had previously met them at the Halloween party. We must not've talked with them much at the Halloween party, because neither of us remembered them. Oops! We were walking through the gate as they drove through and past us.
They were still unpacking things from their car when we finished the brisk walk though the gauntlet. We chatted more, and they were nice enough to give us the end from their watermelon with a plastic spoon. See -- people at Mazo are far more friendly than at textile beaches!
We all decided to sit together, since the beach was very quiet. (It's always quiet on weekdays.) They were having a good time chatting with us, and we would've been lonely by ourselves. We didn't mind the company.
Our entertainment for the evening were the Elders. (Kingpin and another regular who's often there but newly named: EagleEye.) Sitting next to them was a skinny college-age male who was fairly quiet and a busty college-age female who gets a temporary name: Bambi. In retrospect, I don't think they were a couple since they left the beach about 10 minutes apart. Both seemed to be newbies. She was also wearing makeup, which isn't the norm for females at the beach.
Both Kingpin and EagleEye have cameras. Kingpin has an old film camera, and EagleEye has a digital SLR. Usually they are kept packed away. They are both very trustworthy and responsible for their camera use. They always ask for permission, avoid having people in the background of the photos, and keep camera use to a minimum. EagleEye often is more interested in photographing the wildlife than people.
Before we got to the beach, Kingpin must've talked up Bambi and convinced her to give them permission to photograph her. In the first hour we were there, Bambi had pictures both on the beach and in the water taken from both of the guys from every angle. She was laughing at the occasional vulgar comments from Kingpin (and sometimes returning a few), and seemed to be having a good time as the celebrity of the beach. Although the situation was a little annoying (and distracting) for us, I must admit that she was really cute in the water when the fish were nipping at her toes. She giggled from the tickling, then left the water when the fish started going after other things.
After Bambi and the young guy left, Kingpin set his sights on the other group with nice melons. He talked to the couple we were sitting by because he knew them. He knew us too, but for some reason he didn't want to talk to us...
Soon after, the Elders left the beach, and we knew it was safe to put up some posters. The two porta-potties in the little parking lot had no posters either. I put up what I had in all three porta-potties. I didn't put them in an easy-to-take-down spots either, I had little ones on all sides and one under the TP dispenser that could only be seen when sitting down. (I even covered up the traces of vulgar graffiti that were in two of them -- I wish the DNR could catch the people who do that stuff.) Hopefully the posters would last all week...
NEXT EPISODE
Friday, July 10, 2009
Mazo Manor - S2E02 - The Art of Social Networking
On the last day in May, we left early from visiting our family so that we could have some time at the beach. It's not exactly on the way, but was well worth taking the scenic route. Mosquitoes were out this time, and as expected we met a lot of people leaving the beach at around 3 in the afternoon. It was odd to see an old pickup camper parked in the lot. It was also odd to see a bike parked along the path, about half-way. There's really nowhere to walk to from that. I looked around a couple times but didn't see anything. Strange...
The beach was perfect -- the temperature was ideal, the wind didn't blow the sand, there weren't any bugs around, and the demographics were good. There were a few families with kids, some groups our age, and some women around too. In fact, there was a rare sight that day -- a pair of women our age who appeared to be a couple! Another rare sight was how high the water was that day. The sandy parts of the islands were gone, and the beach was a little more scrunched than usual.
As soon as we had our clothes off, Clamor approached us and congratulated us. He read our article in N magazine, and thought it was really cool. Of course, he had to ask where that secret place was, and I gave him the general area.
Our first goal was to find Luther and Manikin (new characters), who started the Mazo Beach Facebook group. My girlfriend led us on this hunt, since she was a member of the group and had been talking to them. The cell phones weren't working very well, so we just made a guess. We approached a group on the north side of the beach that were about our age, and asked if they knew Luther and Manikin. Nope. Kingpin didn't know them either, which really surprised us. We went back to our stuff.
What I noticed right away was a strange scenario. There was a group of a guy and an attractive girl both around our age, but they didn't seem to be a couple. Then, there was a middle-aged man half-way between the two and the water who decided that his back needed a lot of sun. His head was propped up looking directly towards them with dark sunglasses. To me, it just seemed rude. It was clear that he was watching them, or at least her. He gets a temporary generic name -- Snoopy.
My girlfriend spotted Luther coming from the south side (not south end) of the beach, and he led us to the pair I was just talking about. The attractive woman we noticed was Manikin, and the guy by her was a friend. It's no wonder they were hard to spot -- we were looking for a couple, not a group of three. We chatted for a while, but they were getting ready to head out. Snoopy never moved.
We convinced them, while they were getting dressed, to come over and meet Kingpin. During the walk, I asked the friend of the group about Snoopy, and he said that it was really bugging Manikin and that he had been there for a long time. I promised to "have a talk" with Snoopy after they met Kingpin. After literally two minutes of chatting, I turned around and found that Snoopy had disappeared! I mumbled a few choice words... I told the friend that next time, they need to request assistance from the regulars. They at least know Kingpin now.
After the group left, Kingpin informed me that a DNR warden grabbed one of the handouts for the summer festivities and had an angry look on his face. Gaia put them up, so I wasn't at fault, but my contact information is on them. It's good to know just in case I get a call from the DNR. I was a bit surprised that Kingpin told me this -- we must be on somewhat good terms now, which means I must've done the right thing in the previous episode.
Jumping ahead in this paragraph [insert candid interview scene here]: In a later phone call with Gaia, the rumor was that someone from the Elders had called the DNR complaining about the sign. Since Kingpin was at least close enough to detail the DNR warden's face, he may have been involved. The truth may unfold in a later episode. Like I said though, it's just a rumor. Gaia has put signs there for many years without problems, and always had permission from a different DNR warden.
Back at the beach, my girlfriend was approached by a pair that we had seen before in episode 5 last season. This time, they get names: Flake and Gonzo. Gonzo was the one flying the big flag on the beach. The one I didn't mention was Flake. In that same episode, he loudly read the captions in our Brag Book. I found that quite annoying. Both seemed a bit questionable.
The canaries of the beach cleared out when the sun went behind the clouds and a chill ran through the air. We were talking with Flake and Gonzo while that happened, and decided to stick around anyway. They are a truly odd couple... Gonzo is way out there; he looks like a tough tattooed skinny guy, and talks like a hippy. Most of what he says is completely inappropriate, like asking my girlfriend if he can draw circles around her nipples, but he doesn't talk much. Flake usually shakes his head when that happens. Flake is more like a straight-laced traditional family man. He's better at talking, and is quite convincing at being a good naturist, but he still slips on occasion and proves he's in the same boat as Gonzo.
The pair finally left us alone, and we scoped out who was left at the beach. There were a few singles on the north side, and the pair we didn't want to talk to anymore. The south side was more tempting, with a couple our age, a single guy our age, the slightly-younger-than-us female couple (who were swimming and giving each-other piggyback rides in the water earlier), and an older gentleman who was either sleeping or reading. We chose to socialize on that side of the beach, and promote the summer festivities to people our age.
We worked our way up from the water, and first was the couple. We recognized them as we got closer -- they were the couple that we didn't get to visit much with in episode 3. We were delighted to finally be able to chat with them! Since I hope to see them again, I'll give them names: Boots (him) and Tank (her). They live not too far away from us, so carpooling and meeting up elsewhere is an option. They are also getting married soon, and may still be on their honeymoon during the Mazo beach festivities. Where are they going? The Rainbow Gathering, which I'm sure many have never heard of. Lucky for me, I recently read N 12.1 which explained what it is. I asked if they had announced a location yet, or if they wait until the week of the event? Not yet, usually at the last minute. I wish I could go.
During our conversation, Flake and Gonzo appeared. They knew us, and probably wanted to get an eye-full. Flake told stories, challenged Tank to some frisbee golf, and invited them to share a room. (What?) He then went into another story.
With them distracted, and the female couple starting to pack things up, my girlfriend and I excused ourselves, approached the single male our age, and then split up when he started asking questions. I continued to talk to him, and answer his questions, and he slowly strayed topics. He asked for some pointers to swinging clubs. I gave him names for the ones I heard of, emphasized the divide between naturist clubs and swinging clubs, and he seemed content.
My girlfriend had a nice chat with the women, and encouraged them to attend the summer festivities. They were all on good terms and the couple were getting dressed. Our plan backfired when Flake decided to join in. I walked to them quickly afterwords to make sure the situation stayed clean, and my girlfriend decided to run to some geese. Thanks... what a help you are!
Flake told stories, and the women were looking at each-other figuring out how to get away. I was behind Flake, so I waved and then signaled that they should leave with a smile on my face. They got the hint, and just walked away mid-story. Not long after, Flake and Gonzo decided to leave -- I really hope the women made it out! We felt terrible... Not just for them, but for Boots and Tank as well.
We went back to them and apologized after collecting our stuff. They are very understanding and tough enough to handle situations with undesirable people. More people need to be like that, especially as the beach thins out in the late evenings.
Nobody was on the north or central part of the beach. The flock of geese (or is it a gaggle of geese?) that my girlfriend approached earlier swam up and took the spot of the Elders on the beach. It was really amazing, and quite humorous, to see the naked birds replace the naked people. Their demographics were better than ours too.
Back in the parking lot, that pickup camper was still there. I heard the voices of Flake and Gonzo inside, and nobody else. I hope they weren't planning to camp there all night. If they did, then I hope the DNR gave them a ticket for doing so since the area is closed all night. We left before they noticed us.
Since then, I've vowed to be more stern with Flake and Gonzo. If they say anything inappropriate, they're going to hear about it instead of me letting it slide. It's rude of them to bother us and anyone we try to talk to.
NEXT EPISODE
The beach was perfect -- the temperature was ideal, the wind didn't blow the sand, there weren't any bugs around, and the demographics were good. There were a few families with kids, some groups our age, and some women around too. In fact, there was a rare sight that day -- a pair of women our age who appeared to be a couple! Another rare sight was how high the water was that day. The sandy parts of the islands were gone, and the beach was a little more scrunched than usual.
As soon as we had our clothes off, Clamor approached us and congratulated us. He read our article in N magazine, and thought it was really cool. Of course, he had to ask where that secret place was, and I gave him the general area.
Our first goal was to find Luther and Manikin (new characters), who started the Mazo Beach Facebook group. My girlfriend led us on this hunt, since she was a member of the group and had been talking to them. The cell phones weren't working very well, so we just made a guess. We approached a group on the north side of the beach that were about our age, and asked if they knew Luther and Manikin. Nope. Kingpin didn't know them either, which really surprised us. We went back to our stuff.
What I noticed right away was a strange scenario. There was a group of a guy and an attractive girl both around our age, but they didn't seem to be a couple. Then, there was a middle-aged man half-way between the two and the water who decided that his back needed a lot of sun. His head was propped up looking directly towards them with dark sunglasses. To me, it just seemed rude. It was clear that he was watching them, or at least her. He gets a temporary generic name -- Snoopy.
My girlfriend spotted Luther coming from the south side (not south end) of the beach, and he led us to the pair I was just talking about. The attractive woman we noticed was Manikin, and the guy by her was a friend. It's no wonder they were hard to spot -- we were looking for a couple, not a group of three. We chatted for a while, but they were getting ready to head out. Snoopy never moved.
We convinced them, while they were getting dressed, to come over and meet Kingpin. During the walk, I asked the friend of the group about Snoopy, and he said that it was really bugging Manikin and that he had been there for a long time. I promised to "have a talk" with Snoopy after they met Kingpin. After literally two minutes of chatting, I turned around and found that Snoopy had disappeared! I mumbled a few choice words... I told the friend that next time, they need to request assistance from the regulars. They at least know Kingpin now.
After the group left, Kingpin informed me that a DNR warden grabbed one of the handouts for the summer festivities and had an angry look on his face. Gaia put them up, so I wasn't at fault, but my contact information is on them. It's good to know just in case I get a call from the DNR. I was a bit surprised that Kingpin told me this -- we must be on somewhat good terms now, which means I must've done the right thing in the previous episode.
Jumping ahead in this paragraph [insert candid interview scene here]: In a later phone call with Gaia, the rumor was that someone from the Elders had called the DNR complaining about the sign. Since Kingpin was at least close enough to detail the DNR warden's face, he may have been involved. The truth may unfold in a later episode. Like I said though, it's just a rumor. Gaia has put signs there for many years without problems, and always had permission from a different DNR warden.
Back at the beach, my girlfriend was approached by a pair that we had seen before in episode 5 last season. This time, they get names: Flake and Gonzo. Gonzo was the one flying the big flag on the beach. The one I didn't mention was Flake. In that same episode, he loudly read the captions in our Brag Book. I found that quite annoying. Both seemed a bit questionable.
The canaries of the beach cleared out when the sun went behind the clouds and a chill ran through the air. We were talking with Flake and Gonzo while that happened, and decided to stick around anyway. They are a truly odd couple... Gonzo is way out there; he looks like a tough tattooed skinny guy, and talks like a hippy. Most of what he says is completely inappropriate, like asking my girlfriend if he can draw circles around her nipples, but he doesn't talk much. Flake usually shakes his head when that happens. Flake is more like a straight-laced traditional family man. He's better at talking, and is quite convincing at being a good naturist, but he still slips on occasion and proves he's in the same boat as Gonzo.
The pair finally left us alone, and we scoped out who was left at the beach. There were a few singles on the north side, and the pair we didn't want to talk to anymore. The south side was more tempting, with a couple our age, a single guy our age, the slightly-younger-than-us female couple (who were swimming and giving each-other piggyback rides in the water earlier), and an older gentleman who was either sleeping or reading. We chose to socialize on that side of the beach, and promote the summer festivities to people our age.
We worked our way up from the water, and first was the couple. We recognized them as we got closer -- they were the couple that we didn't get to visit much with in episode 3. We were delighted to finally be able to chat with them! Since I hope to see them again, I'll give them names: Boots (him) and Tank (her). They live not too far away from us, so carpooling and meeting up elsewhere is an option. They are also getting married soon, and may still be on their honeymoon during the Mazo beach festivities. Where are they going? The Rainbow Gathering, which I'm sure many have never heard of. Lucky for me, I recently read N 12.1 which explained what it is. I asked if they had announced a location yet, or if they wait until the week of the event? Not yet, usually at the last minute. I wish I could go.
During our conversation, Flake and Gonzo appeared. They knew us, and probably wanted to get an eye-full. Flake told stories, challenged Tank to some frisbee golf, and invited them to share a room. (What?) He then went into another story.
With them distracted, and the female couple starting to pack things up, my girlfriend and I excused ourselves, approached the single male our age, and then split up when he started asking questions. I continued to talk to him, and answer his questions, and he slowly strayed topics. He asked for some pointers to swinging clubs. I gave him names for the ones I heard of, emphasized the divide between naturist clubs and swinging clubs, and he seemed content.
My girlfriend had a nice chat with the women, and encouraged them to attend the summer festivities. They were all on good terms and the couple were getting dressed. Our plan backfired when Flake decided to join in. I walked to them quickly afterwords to make sure the situation stayed clean, and my girlfriend decided to run to some geese. Thanks... what a help you are!
Flake told stories, and the women were looking at each-other figuring out how to get away. I was behind Flake, so I waved and then signaled that they should leave with a smile on my face. They got the hint, and just walked away mid-story. Not long after, Flake and Gonzo decided to leave -- I really hope the women made it out! We felt terrible... Not just for them, but for Boots and Tank as well.
We went back to them and apologized after collecting our stuff. They are very understanding and tough enough to handle situations with undesirable people. More people need to be like that, especially as the beach thins out in the late evenings.
Nobody was on the north or central part of the beach. The flock of geese (or is it a gaggle of geese?) that my girlfriend approached earlier swam up and took the spot of the Elders on the beach. It was really amazing, and quite humorous, to see the naked birds replace the naked people. Their demographics were better than ours too.
Back in the parking lot, that pickup camper was still there. I heard the voices of Flake and Gonzo inside, and nobody else. I hope they weren't planning to camp there all night. If they did, then I hope the DNR gave them a ticket for doing so since the area is closed all night. We left before they noticed us.
Since then, I've vowed to be more stern with Flake and Gonzo. If they say anything inappropriate, they're going to hear about it instead of me letting it slide. It's rude of them to bother us and anyone we try to talk to.
NEXT EPISODE
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Mazo Manor - S2E01 - Taking Care Of Business
"Mazo Manor" is inspired by the Meerkat Manor TV show. (You have to admit that there's a striking resemblance between the FOMB and the FKMP, at least in the pictures.) I'm the production crew, who occasionally goes to the beach and then writes a dramatized, and somewhat anonymized, documentary of what's going on. At the conclusion of the last season, I was unsure if I'd want to continue. I'm not that great at writing drama. You guys seem to endure it though, so a second season is here!
It's been a long winter for all of the Mazokats. Except for a party here and there, picking up trash on a rainy spring day (which I didn't write about this time), and trying a few new things, the cold months were spent planning. I exchanged a few phone calls with Gaia regarding the Nude Recreation Week festivities. I emailed the Contenders, and have their cooperation for the festivities. (Although they didn't let me in their group.) I also tried a phone call with Kingpin, but it didn't work so well and we resorted to writing letters. This was done so we could both speak in turn. Most of his letters were promoting the conflicts between the Elders and the Diligents. Most of my letters were trying to resolve such conflicts, and to arrange an agreement for advertising. Kingpin has a wonderful and unique form of advertising that almost every Mazokat will see. This advertising could be better than what the Diligents can provide, but Kingpin turned down my offer and was bitter over the other things I said in my letter. It worked out though -- I'm partnering with the Diligents and things seem good so far.
On Memorial Day, I made my first trip to the beach. I was alone, it was cloudy and cool, and I was going for business. There were no mosquitoes (!), and there wasn't a very big crowd. Nonetheless, families with kids were about. Kingpin and most of the Elders were (surprisingly) not at the beach. It was easy to spot the two people I was planning to meet -- Gaia and CatHerder (a new character this season).
They were both dressed since it really wasn't that warm, so I kept my pants on also. The shirt was off so that I could work on my tan. It was cloudy, and my stay would be two hours at most, so I should be safe. My skin forgot what the sun was, and today would make a good slow re-introduction.
We sat as a group and chatted for about an hour. There were almost no canoes floating down the river, and not many people made it to the water. Some kids took off running from the back of the beach all the way to the water, then stopped right before entering. Once they carefully stuck a foot in, they decided it was too cold!
Several people braved the water and hung out on the island. CatHerder couldn't believe that people were going there, outside of the traditional nude bathing area. They are the ones that draw complaints, risk getting in trouble, and partly get the beach in trouble. My opinion is that it's a neat area to walk to, and the grass is greener over there. Despite that, I only rarely make the trip over. The DNR has full power to put up signs to close that piece of land, like they have with a lot of other areas around there.
Just as Gaia and CatHerder were driving out, Kingpin arrived on his bike. As he walked by, I said "I hear yesterday was the day be here." He replied with "Both weather and people." He didn't seem upset, but he didn't stop to talk either. Perhaps he was just tolerating me.
The sun came out, so I took the hint to finally take off my pants. I didn't want to stand out too much by being one of the few wearing clothing. If only the rest of society had problems such as this...
Even though Kingpin and I didn't make a deal for advertising, I felt that I should give him the payment anyway. His reasons were beyond what I was expecting, but I understand them now. He doesn't accept money. Instead he has a charity fund set up for the local humane society. My donation was quite generous compared to the funds he's raised thus far. I took it over to him and said "I don't expect anything in return." Hopefully he picked up that there were no hard feelings from the letters, and that I didn't want to be seen as rude by NOT donating to his charity.
If that didn't work, I spent the rest of the time talking to one of his female friends. (Someone else started talking to him that he hadn't seen in quite a while.) Anyway, she thought it was really cool that we were bringing back the summer festivities in full force. Good, I thought, convince Kingpin of that later on. He's the one that doesn't really care.
I returned to my chair just in time to overhear the Contenders calling out a name I recognized. I approached them, and shook hands with the contact I had online. We talked about gaming details and about the upcoming festivities. It was cool to meet him in person! (Note that this wasn't Champ from before. Champ didn't appear to be there today.) I also learned more about the Contenders. They really are a professional group, and play in big (nude) tournaments all around the midwest and the nationals out East somewhere (possibly here?) All-in-all, I think it's impressive!
After that, I called it a day. I noticed that I was a bit pink, and wondered how that happened since it was cloudy almost the whole time and cool. I ended up being sunburnt! It wasn't a bad sunburn, but it was probably enough to make me peel during Eastover. Great -- that's exactly what I was trying to avoid....
Exiting the beach, I walked past the family that included the kids I mentioned above. They had quite the setup! They built up a table and chairs, a gazebo to shade their dining room, and a grill as a kitchen. Whatever they were cooking smelled good, but I didn't want to intrude. I smiled as I walked by.
Remember that mysterious car way back in episode 1? A picture of it has been posted -- make sure to read the caption!
NEXT EPISODE
It's been a long winter for all of the Mazokats. Except for a party here and there, picking up trash on a rainy spring day (which I didn't write about this time), and trying a few new things, the cold months were spent planning. I exchanged a few phone calls with Gaia regarding the Nude Recreation Week festivities. I emailed the Contenders, and have their cooperation for the festivities. (Although they didn't let me in their group.) I also tried a phone call with Kingpin, but it didn't work so well and we resorted to writing letters. This was done so we could both speak in turn. Most of his letters were promoting the conflicts between the Elders and the Diligents. Most of my letters were trying to resolve such conflicts, and to arrange an agreement for advertising. Kingpin has a wonderful and unique form of advertising that almost every Mazokat will see. This advertising could be better than what the Diligents can provide, but Kingpin turned down my offer and was bitter over the other things I said in my letter. It worked out though -- I'm partnering with the Diligents and things seem good so far.
On Memorial Day, I made my first trip to the beach. I was alone, it was cloudy and cool, and I was going for business. There were no mosquitoes (!), and there wasn't a very big crowd. Nonetheless, families with kids were about. Kingpin and most of the Elders were (surprisingly) not at the beach. It was easy to spot the two people I was planning to meet -- Gaia and CatHerder (a new character this season).
They were both dressed since it really wasn't that warm, so I kept my pants on also. The shirt was off so that I could work on my tan. It was cloudy, and my stay would be two hours at most, so I should be safe. My skin forgot what the sun was, and today would make a good slow re-introduction.
We sat as a group and chatted for about an hour. There were almost no canoes floating down the river, and not many people made it to the water. Some kids took off running from the back of the beach all the way to the water, then stopped right before entering. Once they carefully stuck a foot in, they decided it was too cold!
Several people braved the water and hung out on the island. CatHerder couldn't believe that people were going there, outside of the traditional nude bathing area. They are the ones that draw complaints, risk getting in trouble, and partly get the beach in trouble. My opinion is that it's a neat area to walk to, and the grass is greener over there. Despite that, I only rarely make the trip over. The DNR has full power to put up signs to close that piece of land, like they have with a lot of other areas around there.
Just as Gaia and CatHerder were driving out, Kingpin arrived on his bike. As he walked by, I said "I hear yesterday was the day be here." He replied with "Both weather and people." He didn't seem upset, but he didn't stop to talk either. Perhaps he was just tolerating me.
The sun came out, so I took the hint to finally take off my pants. I didn't want to stand out too much by being one of the few wearing clothing. If only the rest of society had problems such as this...
Even though Kingpin and I didn't make a deal for advertising, I felt that I should give him the payment anyway. His reasons were beyond what I was expecting, but I understand them now. He doesn't accept money. Instead he has a charity fund set up for the local humane society. My donation was quite generous compared to the funds he's raised thus far. I took it over to him and said "I don't expect anything in return." Hopefully he picked up that there were no hard feelings from the letters, and that I didn't want to be seen as rude by NOT donating to his charity.
If that didn't work, I spent the rest of the time talking to one of his female friends. (Someone else started talking to him that he hadn't seen in quite a while.) Anyway, she thought it was really cool that we were bringing back the summer festivities in full force. Good, I thought, convince Kingpin of that later on. He's the one that doesn't really care.
I returned to my chair just in time to overhear the Contenders calling out a name I recognized. I approached them, and shook hands with the contact I had online. We talked about gaming details and about the upcoming festivities. It was cool to meet him in person! (Note that this wasn't Champ from before. Champ didn't appear to be there today.) I also learned more about the Contenders. They really are a professional group, and play in big (nude) tournaments all around the midwest and the nationals out East somewhere (possibly here?) All-in-all, I think it's impressive!
After that, I called it a day. I noticed that I was a bit pink, and wondered how that happened since it was cloudy almost the whole time and cool. I ended up being sunburnt! It wasn't a bad sunburn, but it was probably enough to make me peel during Eastover. Great -- that's exactly what I was trying to avoid....
Exiting the beach, I walked past the family that included the kids I mentioned above. They had quite the setup! They built up a table and chairs, a gazebo to shade their dining room, and a grill as a kitchen. Whatever they were cooking smelled good, but I didn't want to intrude. I smiled as I walked by.
Remember that mysterious car way back in episode 1? A picture of it has been posted -- make sure to read the caption!
NEXT EPISODE
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E07 - Missing John
I was right... Since last time, the weather dipped down far enough to signal the first frost advisory of the season. Then, the warm wave came in. For the last week, I've watched the forecast for this weekend (Oct. 11th) climb from 72 degrees all the way to 81 degrees and sunny. In other words, this weekend would be the perfect way to end the season!
Even if the weather decides to bounce back again in another two weeks, we'll be busy at the Halloween party. Since we won't be at the beach any more this year, this will be the last Mazo Manor. I may or may not continue the series next season. (I'm not very good at writing drama anyway, as per my original intent.) I will at least tell the bigger stories, such as my attempt to bring back the Nude Olympics. I will have a dedicated post about this initiative sometime over the winter.
We made it to the beach slightly after noon. The parking lot was about 3/4 full, and the first thing we noticed was that the porta-potty was missing. Perhaps it was a mistake for us to skip the bathroom in Subway, because that was the only stop we made in our 1.5 hours of travel. What are the chances that there is one by the beach? We started the hike to find out.
Along the way, we noticed something very strange. It wasn't a bad thing though because we really enjoyed it... There were no mosquitoes! Seriously, there were none to be found, and I have no idea why. It felt as-if they might be planning an ambush, but we made it through safely. We encountered a couple on the way back, but nowhere near the normal amount. The insects of the day were a few more bees than usual and an attack of harmonia axyridis.
Upon arrival, we saw that all groups were represented. It seems that everyone wanted to make the most of this surprisingly beautiful day. Almanac measured the water temp at 64 degrees, which was a bit cold for us! We set up near the Elders as usual, but didn't do a whole lot of talking. Sometimes it's hard to get a word in edgewise with that group...
At some point, it always happens. My vivacious lady friend turns to me with a smile on her face and says "Thank you -- you always seem to know what I want better than I do." Three hours of driving, bugs that bite along over two miles of hiking, sand in places where it don't belong, and cooling off in often questionable water -- is going to the beach really worth it? Hell yeah! A day at the beach is like having a nice long massage for both of us. It relaxes the stress away, without all the touching.
We went for a walk to the island, mostly hoping that we could find a place to pee. (Remember, no porta-potties!) Wading through the water didn't help, because it was a bit icky with algae for us to want to sit in, and only made us want to go more. On the island, a guy approached us and had 1.5 of our names correct. (Mine correct, hers close.) While talking to us, he kept mentioning things that we didn't remember. Neither of us remember meeting him before, but we've met a lot of people too. It's likely that he was confusing us with another couple, like many others have when seeing us. Either way, it was a strange interaction. I need to start being like these people, so I can recall who people are much better.
Early on, I spotted another couple around our age on the beach and figured that we could try meeting them. They looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out where from... I figured that they must've been on the beach before. I know that I've never talked to them. My girlfriend recognized the guy, but also couldn't remember where from. They were in front of the Elders, and as we made our way to them I remembered exactly where I had seen them before. Since we were there already, I said "You were at the car show!" This brought forth a flood of memories from the car show, including why I didn't want to talk to them the first time.
At the car show, they were camping a few tents down from us. They were a bit too touchy-feely, with his hand almost always on her butt. A cute couple for sure, but they own a swinger place. My girlfriend got a flier from him at the car show, and they made it a point to give us another one this time.
At the same time, they answered to another mystery. I've always been curious about the other very social group that sometimes forms on the slightly-left side of the beach. The couple were part of that group. I may be jumping to conclusions, but it makes sense because there are almost always different people chatting away there.
By this time we both really had to pee, so we decided to head out a bit early. (I heard several people who had the same problem.) Some of the Elders decided to head out as well, but I hadn't yet talked to them despite being so close and saying "Hi". Getting quickly to the point, I approached Kingpin and said "You haven't called me a double-agent yet today, are you feeling OK?" He mentioned that he hopes I'm not spying for the wrong side, and I corrected him in saying that I'm not spying for either side. Hopefully that was enough to get my point across, because we were both heading out and didn't talk much beyond that.
After the beach, we supported the local economy (and local wastewater treatment facility) by visiting the drive-in restaurant. They have good food and good treats, so it's recommended. Despite all the awkward moments, it was still a great day at the beach, and a great end to the season!
NEXT SEASON
Even if the weather decides to bounce back again in another two weeks, we'll be busy at the Halloween party. Since we won't be at the beach any more this year, this will be the last Mazo Manor. I may or may not continue the series next season. (I'm not very good at writing drama anyway, as per my original intent.) I will at least tell the bigger stories, such as my attempt to bring back the Nude Olympics. I will have a dedicated post about this initiative sometime over the winter.
We made it to the beach slightly after noon. The parking lot was about 3/4 full, and the first thing we noticed was that the porta-potty was missing. Perhaps it was a mistake for us to skip the bathroom in Subway, because that was the only stop we made in our 1.5 hours of travel. What are the chances that there is one by the beach? We started the hike to find out.
Along the way, we noticed something very strange. It wasn't a bad thing though because we really enjoyed it... There were no mosquitoes! Seriously, there were none to be found, and I have no idea why. It felt as-if they might be planning an ambush, but we made it through safely. We encountered a couple on the way back, but nowhere near the normal amount. The insects of the day were a few more bees than usual and an attack of harmonia axyridis.
Upon arrival, we saw that all groups were represented. It seems that everyone wanted to make the most of this surprisingly beautiful day. Almanac measured the water temp at 64 degrees, which was a bit cold for us! We set up near the Elders as usual, but didn't do a whole lot of talking. Sometimes it's hard to get a word in edgewise with that group...
At some point, it always happens. My vivacious lady friend turns to me with a smile on her face and says "Thank you -- you always seem to know what I want better than I do." Three hours of driving, bugs that bite along over two miles of hiking, sand in places where it don't belong, and cooling off in often questionable water -- is going to the beach really worth it? Hell yeah! A day at the beach is like having a nice long massage for both of us. It relaxes the stress away, without all the touching.
We went for a walk to the island, mostly hoping that we could find a place to pee. (Remember, no porta-potties!) Wading through the water didn't help, because it was a bit icky with algae for us to want to sit in, and only made us want to go more. On the island, a guy approached us and had 1.5 of our names correct. (Mine correct, hers close.) While talking to us, he kept mentioning things that we didn't remember. Neither of us remember meeting him before, but we've met a lot of people too. It's likely that he was confusing us with another couple, like many others have when seeing us. Either way, it was a strange interaction. I need to start being like these people, so I can recall who people are much better.
Early on, I spotted another couple around our age on the beach and figured that we could try meeting them. They looked familiar, but I couldn't figure out where from... I figured that they must've been on the beach before. I know that I've never talked to them. My girlfriend recognized the guy, but also couldn't remember where from. They were in front of the Elders, and as we made our way to them I remembered exactly where I had seen them before. Since we were there already, I said "You were at the car show!" This brought forth a flood of memories from the car show, including why I didn't want to talk to them the first time.
At the car show, they were camping a few tents down from us. They were a bit too touchy-feely, with his hand almost always on her butt. A cute couple for sure, but they own a swinger place. My girlfriend got a flier from him at the car show, and they made it a point to give us another one this time.
At the same time, they answered to another mystery. I've always been curious about the other very social group that sometimes forms on the slightly-left side of the beach. The couple were part of that group. I may be jumping to conclusions, but it makes sense because there are almost always different people chatting away there.
By this time we both really had to pee, so we decided to head out a bit early. (I heard several people who had the same problem.) Some of the Elders decided to head out as well, but I hadn't yet talked to them despite being so close and saying "Hi". Getting quickly to the point, I approached Kingpin and said "You haven't called me a double-agent yet today, are you feeling OK?" He mentioned that he hopes I'm not spying for the wrong side, and I corrected him in saying that I'm not spying for either side. Hopefully that was enough to get my point across, because we were both heading out and didn't talk much beyond that.
After the beach, we supported the local economy (and local wastewater treatment facility) by visiting the drive-in restaurant. They have good food and good treats, so it's recommended. Despite all the awkward moments, it was still a great day at the beach, and a great end to the season!
NEXT SEASON
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E06 - Trash Talk
I rode the motorcycle to the mazo parking lot for the twice-annual road cleanup. There were about 15 of us, similar to last time. After a few doughnuts, we put on our stylish safety vests and got to work. I volunteered for Laws Drive again, because I was interested in seeing just how much trash accumulates over a summer. My partner-in-cleanup was the Badger Naturists website administrator, who was snapping pictures for the site. (As of now, they haven't been published yet on their site.) I'll skip the tech-talk that made up the majority of our conversation in order to keep you the reader awake. He has visited Cap D'Agde, and told me that it's very much a city atmosphere and that people are quick to put clothes on as soon as the sun goes down. Good to know, I guess, since I've been hoping to visit there sometime.
Notable items that I found while picking up trash include an eaten ear of corn, a bird skull, and 5 condom wrappers. I also found a standard geocaching information sheet and a geocaching business card, which indicates that a geocache had been stolen. I posted a note on the one that was likely attacked. [UPDATE: The cache was stolen, and was replaced a month later.] My partner and I picked up about one large bag full of trash in total, which is half what I collected this spring. That's still a lot of trash for only 4.5 months! The entire crew had to deal with styrofoam packing peanuts, which makes me wish that more companies would switch to using the corn-starch ones that literally melt away when wet. Lastly, the crew observed that there were less cigarette packages and butts than normal, indicating that more people might be quitting the habit. I was happy to find out that I'm not the only one deriving statistics from trash cleanup.
After the cleanup, I had a difficult choice to make. Normally, everyone goes to Culvers for some free ice cream and what ends up being a club meeting for the Diligents. The other option was to ride with Clamor and Screech to the nearest Subway and then head straight to the beach. Culvers would strengthen my social standing with the Diligents, and further hurt my social standing with the Elders. Subway would probably not change my standing with the Diligents, and would indicate to the Elders that my intent was to help the community. To the pity of others, I chose to go with Clamor and Screech.
On the way to the beach, I saw a few DNR people and a group of Hmong hunters. The hunters were a bit scary, because all had their rifles slung on the backs, and several had some pretty large scopes. Is a large scope really needed for hunting near a nude beach? I started to wonder how many "hunters" might be hiding in camo on the other side of the river with their large scopes... I should buy one of these and find out.
As I walked past the Contenders, I returned their ball that landed a few feet from me. (This seems to happen a lot...) At the beach, I made it a point to sit near the Elders and make sure they knew that I helped with the road cleanup but didn't go to Culvers with the rest of the crew. They at least talked to me a bit, but have been referring to me as a "double-agent".
At one point, Smokey put on a pair of shorts and went to the parking lot. The Contenders' ball landed a few feet away from him. He looked at it, looked at them, and kept going. In my opinion, it's actions like these that further separate the groups on the beach. I wish they'd quit. Holding a grudge results in a never-ending cycle of negativity.
The sky was getting cloudy and the temperature was getting cool. The canaries of the beach had put their clothes back on. Kingpin and Smokey decided to call it a day early in the evening, at roughly the same time as more of the Diligents were showing up. Being a "double-agent", this worked to my advantage.
Gaia approached me and gave me a TNS golf shirt. I was confused, until she told me that my name was drawn for the prize. Cool! I tried it on, mostly because I was cold. It's a bit small (I think) and not my color (green), but I wore it for the rest of the day including a trip to Walmart. I plan to wear it when I can, including possibly to work. However, the green color might scare them more than the text.
It's amazing how much some of the beach members travel. Two of the cleanup crew were from Florida -- why they decided to clean up trash, I have no idea... Also, there was an older couple there who were back from 3 weeks in Germany. They reported that gas was $9 per gallon over there, so even their motorcycle was expensive to run. Here in the States, they often drive a veggie oil powered diesel.
Someone was telling me more about the Burning Man festival, since they had attended it a few times. They love it and hate it all at the same time. They love the radical self-expression, but hate some of the social situations. They told me about a naked woman who was in a large tray of glitter, and who had a crowd of men rubbing the glitter on her, and even in her special lady parts. Witnessing this, it was unclear if she was OK with this situation. If not, how would one person get all those men to stop? Social pressure is yet another danger for the festival, and the widespread drug use doesn't help.
Everyone at the beach had the idea that this would be the last good weekend of the summer. The temperatures are getting colder, but I've noticed that weather always comes in waves. The forecast indicates a cold wave, and after that will probably be another warm wave. I think we'll have another good weekend, or at least good weekday, where we can enjoy the beach. On this day, I intend to have a longer discussion with the Elders. I think they are worried that I will tell the Diligents details about them, and I need to clarify that I won't. Previous posts explain my intent well enough, but I am unsure if they read this blog. Either way, I feel as if I need to reconnect with them before it's too late.
NEXT EPISODE
Notable items that I found while picking up trash include an eaten ear of corn, a bird skull, and 5 condom wrappers. I also found a standard geocaching information sheet and a geocaching business card, which indicates that a geocache had been stolen. I posted a note on the one that was likely attacked. [UPDATE: The cache was stolen, and was replaced a month later.] My partner and I picked up about one large bag full of trash in total, which is half what I collected this spring. That's still a lot of trash for only 4.5 months! The entire crew had to deal with styrofoam packing peanuts, which makes me wish that more companies would switch to using the corn-starch ones that literally melt away when wet. Lastly, the crew observed that there were less cigarette packages and butts than normal, indicating that more people might be quitting the habit. I was happy to find out that I'm not the only one deriving statistics from trash cleanup.
After the cleanup, I had a difficult choice to make. Normally, everyone goes to Culvers for some free ice cream and what ends up being a club meeting for the Diligents. The other option was to ride with Clamor and Screech to the nearest Subway and then head straight to the beach. Culvers would strengthen my social standing with the Diligents, and further hurt my social standing with the Elders. Subway would probably not change my standing with the Diligents, and would indicate to the Elders that my intent was to help the community. To the pity of others, I chose to go with Clamor and Screech.
On the way to the beach, I saw a few DNR people and a group of Hmong hunters. The hunters were a bit scary, because all had their rifles slung on the backs, and several had some pretty large scopes. Is a large scope really needed for hunting near a nude beach? I started to wonder how many "hunters" might be hiding in camo on the other side of the river with their large scopes... I should buy one of these and find out.
As I walked past the Contenders, I returned their ball that landed a few feet from me. (This seems to happen a lot...) At the beach, I made it a point to sit near the Elders and make sure they knew that I helped with the road cleanup but didn't go to Culvers with the rest of the crew. They at least talked to me a bit, but have been referring to me as a "double-agent".
At one point, Smokey put on a pair of shorts and went to the parking lot. The Contenders' ball landed a few feet away from him. He looked at it, looked at them, and kept going. In my opinion, it's actions like these that further separate the groups on the beach. I wish they'd quit. Holding a grudge results in a never-ending cycle of negativity.
The sky was getting cloudy and the temperature was getting cool. The canaries of the beach had put their clothes back on. Kingpin and Smokey decided to call it a day early in the evening, at roughly the same time as more of the Diligents were showing up. Being a "double-agent", this worked to my advantage.
Gaia approached me and gave me a TNS golf shirt. I was confused, until she told me that my name was drawn for the prize. Cool! I tried it on, mostly because I was cold. It's a bit small (I think) and not my color (green), but I wore it for the rest of the day including a trip to Walmart. I plan to wear it when I can, including possibly to work. However, the green color might scare them more than the text.
It's amazing how much some of the beach members travel. Two of the cleanup crew were from Florida -- why they decided to clean up trash, I have no idea... Also, there was an older couple there who were back from 3 weeks in Germany. They reported that gas was $9 per gallon over there, so even their motorcycle was expensive to run. Here in the States, they often drive a veggie oil powered diesel.
Someone was telling me more about the Burning Man festival, since they had attended it a few times. They love it and hate it all at the same time. They love the radical self-expression, but hate some of the social situations. They told me about a naked woman who was in a large tray of glitter, and who had a crowd of men rubbing the glitter on her, and even in her special lady parts. Witnessing this, it was unclear if she was OK with this situation. If not, how would one person get all those men to stop? Social pressure is yet another danger for the festival, and the widespread drug use doesn't help.
Everyone at the beach had the idea that this would be the last good weekend of the summer. The temperatures are getting colder, but I've noticed that weather always comes in waves. The forecast indicates a cold wave, and after that will probably be another warm wave. I think we'll have another good weekend, or at least good weekday, where we can enjoy the beach. On this day, I intend to have a longer discussion with the Elders. I think they are worried that I will tell the Diligents details about them, and I need to clarify that I won't. Previous posts explain my intent well enough, but I am unsure if they read this blog. Either way, I feel as if I need to reconnect with them before it's too late.
NEXT EPISODE
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E05 - Not an Airport
There were only a few cars around when we got there at 9am, the day before Labor Day. Little did I know, cars would be parked along the road by noon and a lot of exciting people would be there:
The DNR warden passed through at some point. He stopped and talked to Kingpin for a bit, and made his way to the South-Ender section. Despite how busy the beach was today, it was all in good clean fun. Everyone was chatting or playing games and having a good day. The only issue I heard of was a South-Ender with a camera, and he got talked to pretty quickly. He was too far away to get any decent pictures, so he posed little threat to the main part of the beach.
I spent most of my time talking with the Diligents. While I can't dive into the details, there are a few things that I should be able to mention. First is that I'm amazed at how deep-rooted the group is in the community, and how much actually goes on behind the scenes to help the whole community out. I used to be sceptical about their lack of information regarding what they were up to, but they have recently earned a lot of my trust.
Second is that the DNR and other groups, at times, are against us. They spend a lot of time crawling through Mazo-related groups and blogs digging up any dirt they can to help their own case, which probably means taking things out of context and quoting only people that don't know what they're talking about. I've re-read my previous Mazo posts, and I think they would really have to twist my words to consider any of it "dirt". It would be hard to dig up dirt on such friendly, happy, peaceful, and helpful people such as ourselves. If only the opposition had such qualities...
The last point that I should talk about is that NAC did help Elizabeth Book. They covered the cost of mailing a lot of stuff and did several other things to help out. (I could get the details if needed, but I hate to bug them about it now...) A NAC representitive was there with Liz during one of her earlier protests. They didn't comment on Nudiarists open letter to NAC because of his request to organize mass support. They should've at least detailed what they were doing, but didn't spend the time to do so. She wasn't arrested as expected by Nudiarist and I, and NAC probably knew she wouldn't be. I take back the couple of bad things I said about NAC regarding the Liz Book issue -- they've earned my trust as well.
The Elders gave me a lot of grief for chatting with the Diligents, which may impact my social standing with them. Hopefully they realize that I can be a benefit to both groups at the same time. TheDiligents have a powerful network set up to support the beach politically, despite their occasional visits. The Elders are always there, know everyone, and do a great job in keeping the beach itself clean and family friendly. Both groups have their sets of contacts, and both groups have certainly played a large part in keeping the beach. I intend to help both groups in the work that they do, and may eventually end up being the bridge that links them both. If only these two groups would work together themselves...
On the way out, we met two women (newbies) who were just starting their way to the beach. They didn't bring bug spray, as usual. We gave them our can, which should've lasted the trip before being empty, and they were very appreciative. I'm sure they had a positive experience from that moment on, and we'll probably see them again sometime.
NEXT EPISODE
- The Elders, of course, who delivered pictures from the party.
- All other groups were represented, including the Diligents.
- The "high up political official" was there.
- The DNR.
- The couple with the neat electric boat.
- One guy brought a big flag and flew it high to celebrate the holiday.
- The guy that flies the helicopter landed it on the island.
- Another guy flew in with a plane...
The DNR warden passed through at some point. He stopped and talked to Kingpin for a bit, and made his way to the South-Ender section. Despite how busy the beach was today, it was all in good clean fun. Everyone was chatting or playing games and having a good day. The only issue I heard of was a South-Ender with a camera, and he got talked to pretty quickly. He was too far away to get any decent pictures, so he posed little threat to the main part of the beach.
I spent most of my time talking with the Diligents. While I can't dive into the details, there are a few things that I should be able to mention. First is that I'm amazed at how deep-rooted the group is in the community, and how much actually goes on behind the scenes to help the whole community out. I used to be sceptical about their lack of information regarding what they were up to, but they have recently earned a lot of my trust.
Second is that the DNR and other groups, at times, are against us. They spend a lot of time crawling through Mazo-related groups and blogs digging up any dirt they can to help their own case, which probably means taking things out of context and quoting only people that don't know what they're talking about. I've re-read my previous Mazo posts, and I think they would really have to twist my words to consider any of it "dirt". It would be hard to dig up dirt on such friendly, happy, peaceful, and helpful people such as ourselves. If only the opposition had such qualities...
The last point that I should talk about is that NAC did help Elizabeth Book. They covered the cost of mailing a lot of stuff and did several other things to help out. (I could get the details if needed, but I hate to bug them about it now...) A NAC representitive was there with Liz during one of her earlier protests. They didn't comment on Nudiarists open letter to NAC because of his request to organize mass support. They should've at least detailed what they were doing, but didn't spend the time to do so. She wasn't arrested as expected by Nudiarist and I, and NAC probably knew she wouldn't be. I take back the couple of bad things I said about NAC regarding the Liz Book issue -- they've earned my trust as well.
The Elders gave me a lot of grief for chatting with the Diligents, which may impact my social standing with them. Hopefully they realize that I can be a benefit to both groups at the same time. TheDiligents have a powerful network set up to support the beach politically, despite their occasional visits. The Elders are always there, know everyone, and do a great job in keeping the beach itself clean and family friendly. Both groups have their sets of contacts, and both groups have certainly played a large part in keeping the beach. I intend to help both groups in the work that they do, and may eventually end up being the bridge that links them both. If only these two groups would work together themselves...
On the way out, we met two women (newbies) who were just starting their way to the beach. They didn't bring bug spray, as usual. We gave them our can, which should've lasted the trip before being empty, and they were very appreciative. I'm sure they had a positive experience from that moment on, and we'll probably see them again sometime.
NEXT EPISODE
Friday, August 1, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E04 - Perfect Day in Paradise
I have no idea why the big crowds always show up later in the season... Today (July 26th), the parking lot was packed and we had to park on Laws Drive. Of course, the beach was also pretty full as well. The Contenders were there, and the Elders were there, and then a whole mess of other people. It was so full that I couldn't differentiate between groups. This concept made me happy, because it appeared that everyone was integrated into a single community instead of separating into sub-groups. If only it would stay that way...
Remember that this whole "Mazo Manor" thing is inspired by the Meerkat Manor TV show. (You have to admit that there's a striking resemblance between the FOMB and the FKMP, at least in the pictures.) I'm the production crew, who occasionally goes to the beach and then writes a dramatized, and somewhat anonymized, documentary of what's going on. If anyone is interested in writing episodes for days that I'm not around, I'd love to expand the production crew! I'm doing this mostly for fun, and I understand that I don't always get the facts right depending on who I talk to and how much I observe. I'm sure the producers of Meerkat Manor have this same problem, except with the whole "talking" thing.
With that said, I need to also point out that today overloaded the production crew. The lack of grouping and busyness of the beach made it very difficult to observe what was going on. Also, we were there for only 2 hours, and mostly showed up to meet with people before a party. Now, back to the story...
Walking to and from the beach, we encountered 5 couples who were being eaten alive by mozzies because they didn't bring any spray. We offered ours, and all of which readily accepted. We went through about half a can that day, and not much of that actually went on us. C'mon people, bring some protection before you enter the gauntlet. It was apparent that they were either new or hadn't been to the beach in a few years, because anyone who knows the current state of the gauntlet either bikes or has strong bug spray in hand.
Leaving the beach, we found a somewhat creepy business card on the small parking lot. Doing a quick search, I found that he's also listing this on craigslist here. I'm seriously failing to see how this could be considered entertaining, especially when stretched into a full hour. (No pun intended.) This guy has "exhibitionist" written all over him, and probably does free performances in the South-Ender section.
The beach also had a recent visitor hanging in the back and taking pictures. The Elders approached him, and demanded to see/erase the pictures and were going to tell him to go away. He popped out the camera's memory card, handed it over, and then took off. This action shocked the Elders, but it makes sense: In that situation, would you hand over a $40 card and consider it gone, or hand over an expensive camera with the possibility of losing the camera and getting beaten up? Of course he wouldn't have, but he didn't know that. Upon investigation, the pictures were all blurry and didn't amount to anything.
We saw the young couple from episode 2, and asked if they were attending the party. They were invited, but were unsure. The couple from episode 3 were also invited, but we never saw them. There weren't any other young couples our age at the beach, and none went to the party.
They missed out, because the party was awesome! We had a small but comfortable back yard (with a bouncer at the door), a campfire to roast our chestnuts and toast our buns, a pool to cool off in, the best pork chops I've ever tasted, and about 30 of the most entertaining clothing-optional guests! There were a few cameras, but all were in the hands of very trustworthy people and I know exactly where those photos are going. They're going into "brag books", one of which was recently started by us. So far, it only has photos from my trip to Australia, a few artistic ones taken locally, and a few of our place. It's no match for the photo library of Mazo history that a certain other person has. Lessons from his collection are: We need to bring back body-painting, and need to bring back the Nude Olympics. They looked like a lot of fun!
I don't want to go into the details of the party because it's not really beach related. But, I will say that it was a lot more fun and a lot more social than a day at the beach. We're considering a "movie night" (with my projector pointing at the white wall by the pool) and a "Passion Party night" for couples. It's important to point out that none of that is sexual beyond just words. We're true nudists, not swingers or anything else. It'll be a tasteful movie (I'm thinking "Sirens" or "Medicine Man" from the list), and a passion party just like one in the textile world. We may combine the two into a single party, depending on interest.
All-in-all, it was a great evening. I'm glad to see such a busy beach, and glad that people are willing to host such great parties!
NEXT EPISODE
Remember that this whole "Mazo Manor" thing is inspired by the Meerkat Manor TV show. (You have to admit that there's a striking resemblance between the FOMB and the FKMP, at least in the pictures.) I'm the production crew, who occasionally goes to the beach and then writes a dramatized, and somewhat anonymized, documentary of what's going on. If anyone is interested in writing episodes for days that I'm not around, I'd love to expand the production crew! I'm doing this mostly for fun, and I understand that I don't always get the facts right depending on who I talk to and how much I observe. I'm sure the producers of Meerkat Manor have this same problem, except with the whole "talking" thing.
With that said, I need to also point out that today overloaded the production crew. The lack of grouping and busyness of the beach made it very difficult to observe what was going on. Also, we were there for only 2 hours, and mostly showed up to meet with people before a party. Now, back to the story...
Walking to and from the beach, we encountered 5 couples who were being eaten alive by mozzies because they didn't bring any spray. We offered ours, and all of which readily accepted. We went through about half a can that day, and not much of that actually went on us. C'mon people, bring some protection before you enter the gauntlet. It was apparent that they were either new or hadn't been to the beach in a few years, because anyone who knows the current state of the gauntlet either bikes or has strong bug spray in hand.
Leaving the beach, we found a somewhat creepy business card on the small parking lot. Doing a quick search, I found that he's also listing this on craigslist here. I'm seriously failing to see how this could be considered entertaining, especially when stretched into a full hour. (No pun intended.) This guy has "exhibitionist" written all over him, and probably does free performances in the South-Ender section.
The beach also had a recent visitor hanging in the back and taking pictures. The Elders approached him, and demanded to see/erase the pictures and were going to tell him to go away. He popped out the camera's memory card, handed it over, and then took off. This action shocked the Elders, but it makes sense: In that situation, would you hand over a $40 card and consider it gone, or hand over an expensive camera with the possibility of losing the camera and getting beaten up? Of course he wouldn't have, but he didn't know that. Upon investigation, the pictures were all blurry and didn't amount to anything.
We saw the young couple from episode 2, and asked if they were attending the party. They were invited, but were unsure. The couple from episode 3 were also invited, but we never saw them. There weren't any other young couples our age at the beach, and none went to the party.
They missed out, because the party was awesome! We had a small but comfortable back yard (with a bouncer at the door), a campfire to roast our chestnuts and toast our buns, a pool to cool off in, the best pork chops I've ever tasted, and about 30 of the most entertaining clothing-optional guests! There were a few cameras, but all were in the hands of very trustworthy people and I know exactly where those photos are going. They're going into "brag books", one of which was recently started by us. So far, it only has photos from my trip to Australia, a few artistic ones taken locally, and a few of our place. It's no match for the photo library of Mazo history that a certain other person has. Lessons from his collection are: We need to bring back body-painting, and need to bring back the Nude Olympics. They looked like a lot of fun!
I don't want to go into the details of the party because it's not really beach related. But, I will say that it was a lot more fun and a lot more social than a day at the beach. We're considering a "movie night" (with my projector pointing at the white wall by the pool) and a "Passion Party night" for couples. It's important to point out that none of that is sexual beyond just words. We're true nudists, not swingers or anything else. It'll be a tasteful movie (I'm thinking "Sirens" or "Medicine Man" from the list), and a passion party just like one in the textile world. We may combine the two into a single party, depending on interest.
All-in-all, it was a great evening. I'm glad to see such a busy beach, and glad that people are willing to host such great parties!
NEXT EPISODE
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E03 - Now That's a Clean Sea-Doo!
My girlfriend and I took the motorcycle to the beach on the July 4th holiday. Upon arrival, I noticed that the beach was a bit more empty than what I was expecting. Over time, it became much more lively. It was mostly middle-aged people and there was a really good gender balance. That's one thing I love about mazo -- most resorts have mostly old men, but the beach has a much better mix.
The Contenders were around this time, and were engaged in their group for the entire time we were at the beach. A few of them swapped out to watch, but no outsider was invited in (that I noticed). They are beyond the skills of most outsiders anyway. I heard a few reports from other people saying that individually they are great to talk to, but together they are somewhat rude. This attitude is primarily caused by a person who I will call Champ. I never approached this group to hear their side of the story. It's a little intimidating, actually.
Here's another intimidating thing: Couples our age. At home, my girlfriend and I have a problem with making friends. None of our hobbies in town are social (aka, we don't drink), so all the friends we have are from work. In other words, we have kinda boring friends. I used to have other friends in town, but they all have graduated and moved away. Our only big social hobby is Mazo Beach, so we are trying to meet new friends there. We'd prefer people our age, and that are somewhat close to our area. People our age are rare, and hard to approach correctly. (Example in the last episode, who weren't around this time like I hoped they would be.) And it seems that the couple is always more attractive then ourselves, which only makes me feel bad for trying to talk to the "hot girl at the party".
There was one other couple on the beach our age, and they apparently were weekenders (or more) that we just hadn't seen yet. I didn't want to approach them directly, and we missed our opportunity to join in when Smokey was talking to them. As we approached, Smokey was leaving, so instead I joined up with him to go check out a boat that we had discussed previously. It was a 1950's sailboat hull that was remade into an electric boat with a canvas top, and looked awesome!
As luck would have it, the couple went for a dip while we were chatting with the Elders. My girlfriend waved them over to us on their return, and they joined since they knew the Elders. Success! We learned that they were from our area and have some common interests with us. We think they're great, and we're looking forward to seeing them more often either at the beach or at other social activities in our area. They have our contact information, and I really hope they contact us. They energetically invited us over to their spot on the beach to chat more -- and I fully intended to visit!
Another thing the female of the couple mentioned is that she was yelled at. She put on a tanktop to go to the porta-potty. Normally she should wear pants too, since the shirt didn't even begin to cover her butt. (My observation is that every other part of the land is closed right now, so it's only nudies in the mini parking lot -- we shouldn't have to wear clothing since there is no possibility for textilers.) Champ yelled at her, something to the effect of "You need to cover up -- this is our beach and we don't want weekenders getting us in trouble!" The Elders later pointed out that the couple visit the beach more often than the Contenders, again calling them rude. They admitted that if encountered, it would really be a DNR judgement call since she was mostly covered. Mostly though, they didn't like Champ calling it their beach. It belongs to the public, not them.
After the couple left the group conversation, I asked Kingpin a burning question that I had: Were the many people on the island supposed to be over there? I've heard from several people that they aren't supposed to be, because it's in another county and outside of the traditional beach area. Kingpin didn't know about where the county line was exactly, but said that he was never told by the DNR or anyone official that people shouldn't be there. My further investigation (at home) is as follows: (click the image for full view)
The county line is highlighted in yellow, and the source for this is the Wisconsin DNR WebView. It's an odd place to draw the line, but the island in question is indeed in a different county. However, does this really matter? The DNR controls the land on both sides and in between, and it's not like they have to call in a different county's DNR person to investigate something on the other side of the river. It seems that the only people who could answer my question is the DNR -- little did I know, I'd have the answer today.
There was fairly heavy canoe traffic today, and for some reason almost ALL came through near the beach. The beach was rockin', so I guess they wanted to sneak a peek. There was one guy that was dressed kinda flashy who zoomed in on a sea-doo. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that this was a DNR warden.
What do we do now? I know they usually peek in, but normally it's from the mini parking lot and not a sea-doo. This guy stopped by some swimmers, who held his sea-doo in place after he shut it off to talk to them. Kingpin, my girlfriend and I wandered out there as well. Kingpin knew him by name already, and I just couldn't pass this up.
The warden asked Kingpin how things have been going. He knew that the Elders and other regulars do a great job at self-policing. Kingpin reported that there haven't been any problems. The warden seemed content, as-if surrounded by friends even though not a beach-goer, and decided to have lunch while chatting. He asked about how far people have been going down the island, and Kingpin (who patrols this occasionally) gave him about how many were there and how far they are going. The warden didn't mind at all -- strongly indicating that the DNR doesn't mind people being on the island as long as they are close to the traditional beach. In other words, the part you can see from the traditional beach is OK by this warden. He never said that people shouldn't be there, and people were currently there. However, people shouldn't test the limits by wandering further.
Update: On a technical note, the island is beyond the traditional area. The beach-side is probably OK for a quick visit, but don't go on the other side. This is the main river channel, and the people on the river will complain. If there are complaints, the DNR will do something about it. Although the DNR warden didn't seem to mind, he may be giving us enough rope to hang ourselves with.
The people of the beach really appreciate the DNR. They offer us safety (the warden fined a textile canoeist for having glass near our beach just before visiting us), and we help them out by self-policing, pulling invasive weeds, cleaning the roads, and whatever we can. The group noticed that the sea-doo was a bit dirty, so a few of them washed it off with river water during the warden's lunch. (I'm sure he was happy that a naked woman was washing his sea-doo.)
This whole encounter proved several things:
Anyway, during the chat I noticed that the couple we had met earlier were leaving. They invited us over, and I felt really bad that I hadn't made it over there. Oh well, we'll have to catch up another day! Despite how badly I wanted to go back on the 5th or 6th, prior commitments and our current sunburns indicated that we probably shouldn't. I'm sure the beach was rockin' even more over the weekend -- sorry that we had to miss it!
NEXT EPISODE
The Contenders were around this time, and were engaged in their group for the entire time we were at the beach. A few of them swapped out to watch, but no outsider was invited in (that I noticed). They are beyond the skills of most outsiders anyway. I heard a few reports from other people saying that individually they are great to talk to, but together they are somewhat rude. This attitude is primarily caused by a person who I will call Champ. I never approached this group to hear their side of the story. It's a little intimidating, actually.
Here's another intimidating thing: Couples our age. At home, my girlfriend and I have a problem with making friends. None of our hobbies in town are social (aka, we don't drink), so all the friends we have are from work. In other words, we have kinda boring friends. I used to have other friends in town, but they all have graduated and moved away. Our only big social hobby is Mazo Beach, so we are trying to meet new friends there. We'd prefer people our age, and that are somewhat close to our area. People our age are rare, and hard to approach correctly. (Example in the last episode, who weren't around this time like I hoped they would be.) And it seems that the couple is always more attractive then ourselves, which only makes me feel bad for trying to talk to the "hot girl at the party".
There was one other couple on the beach our age, and they apparently were weekenders (or more) that we just hadn't seen yet. I didn't want to approach them directly, and we missed our opportunity to join in when Smokey was talking to them. As we approached, Smokey was leaving, so instead I joined up with him to go check out a boat that we had discussed previously. It was a 1950's sailboat hull that was remade into an electric boat with a canvas top, and looked awesome!
As luck would have it, the couple went for a dip while we were chatting with the Elders. My girlfriend waved them over to us on their return, and they joined since they knew the Elders. Success! We learned that they were from our area and have some common interests with us. We think they're great, and we're looking forward to seeing them more often either at the beach or at other social activities in our area. They have our contact information, and I really hope they contact us. They energetically invited us over to their spot on the beach to chat more -- and I fully intended to visit!
Another thing the female of the couple mentioned is that she was yelled at. She put on a tanktop to go to the porta-potty. Normally she should wear pants too, since the shirt didn't even begin to cover her butt. (My observation is that every other part of the land is closed right now, so it's only nudies in the mini parking lot -- we shouldn't have to wear clothing since there is no possibility for textilers.) Champ yelled at her, something to the effect of "You need to cover up -- this is our beach and we don't want weekenders getting us in trouble!" The Elders later pointed out that the couple visit the beach more often than the Contenders, again calling them rude. They admitted that if encountered, it would really be a DNR judgement call since she was mostly covered. Mostly though, they didn't like Champ calling it their beach. It belongs to the public, not them.
After the couple left the group conversation, I asked Kingpin a burning question that I had: Were the many people on the island supposed to be over there? I've heard from several people that they aren't supposed to be, because it's in another county and outside of the traditional beach area. Kingpin didn't know about where the county line was exactly, but said that he was never told by the DNR or anyone official that people shouldn't be there. My further investigation (at home) is as follows: (click the image for full view)
The county line is highlighted in yellow, and the source for this is the Wisconsin DNR WebView. It's an odd place to draw the line, but the island in question is indeed in a different county. However, does this really matter? The DNR controls the land on both sides and in between, and it's not like they have to call in a different county's DNR person to investigate something on the other side of the river. It seems that the only people who could answer my question is the DNR -- little did I know, I'd have the answer today.
There was fairly heavy canoe traffic today, and for some reason almost ALL came through near the beach. The beach was rockin', so I guess they wanted to sneak a peek. There was one guy that was dressed kinda flashy who zoomed in on a sea-doo. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that this was a DNR warden.
What do we do now? I know they usually peek in, but normally it's from the mini parking lot and not a sea-doo. This guy stopped by some swimmers, who held his sea-doo in place after he shut it off to talk to them. Kingpin, my girlfriend and I wandered out there as well. Kingpin knew him by name already, and I just couldn't pass this up.
The warden asked Kingpin how things have been going. He knew that the Elders and other regulars do a great job at self-policing. Kingpin reported that there haven't been any problems. The warden seemed content, as-if surrounded by friends even though not a beach-goer, and decided to have lunch while chatting. He asked about how far people have been going down the island, and Kingpin (who patrols this occasionally) gave him about how many were there and how far they are going. The warden didn't mind at all -- strongly indicating that the DNR doesn't mind people being on the island as long as they are close to the traditional beach. In other words, the part you can see from the traditional beach is OK by this warden. He never said that people shouldn't be there, and people were currently there. However, people shouldn't test the limits by wandering further.
Update: On a technical note, the island is beyond the traditional area. The beach-side is probably OK for a quick visit, but don't go on the other side. This is the main river channel, and the people on the river will complain. If there are complaints, the DNR will do something about it. Although the DNR warden didn't seem to mind, he may be giving us enough rope to hang ourselves with.
The people of the beach really appreciate the DNR. They offer us safety (the warden fined a textile canoeist for having glass near our beach just before visiting us), and we help them out by self-policing, pulling invasive weeds, cleaning the roads, and whatever we can. The group noticed that the sea-doo was a bit dirty, so a few of them washed it off with river water during the warden's lunch. (I'm sure he was happy that a naked woman was washing his sea-doo.)
This whole encounter proved several things:
- The DNR really is in good terms with the nudists that use the beach.
- The nudists are in good terms with the DNR.
- Kingpin is a primary contact for at least this DNR warden.
- The island isn't off-limits, but can be if we push further.
- The DNR is awesome!
Anyway, during the chat I noticed that the couple we had met earlier were leaving. They invited us over, and I felt really bad that I hadn't made it over there. Oh well, we'll have to catch up another day! Despite how badly I wanted to go back on the 5th or 6th, prior commitments and our current sunburns indicated that we probably shouldn't. I'm sure the beach was rockin' even more over the weekend -- sorry that we had to miss it!
NEXT EPISODE
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E02 - Kingpin in Training
I was alone today (June 21st), so I filled the backpack and took the motorcycle to Mazo. On the way, I stopped at the gas station and grabbed some food for the beach.
No bug spray was needed -- the mozzies were surprisingly sparse. The water level was just fine, slightly high but there was plenty of beach available. Almanac said the water was 77 degrees, and that the water may still be a little polluted from the flooding. The beach seemed calm for a Saturday, and consisted of the Elders and random people scatted around the rest of the beach.
I asked about the garlic mustard issues from last time. It wasn't a prank. Captain Planet and Gaia (who were there today too) put it there themselves, and the caller thought that someone else did it. Another blog has posted a picture of this event. (Hmmm.... were they the ones that called Smokey?)
I took a walk around the beach. It's funny that the Elders were chatting away, and most everyone else was dead silent. There were no other chatty groups on the beach. The demographics were surprising today -- there were attractive couples there my age, maybe even a bit younger. There was even a group of just females, my age, which is a very rare sight for any US nudist venue.
Kingpin detected a newbie couple towards the back of the beach. I knew that he would want to talk to them, since he likes to meet everyone on the beach. Ok, maybe just every newbie group that contains one of more females. This is for good reason though: More females that are encouraged to be at the beach means it's more comfortable for other females and brings the gender balance closer to even. Men don't really need the encouragement.
I was curious as to how a professional such as himself would approach them, so I waited. This is really a bigger issue than it seems! A single man walking up to a couple to chat could certainly make the female uncomfortable, meaning they won't come back. The answer: Kingpin waited until she was in the water alone (and after they had been there a while), then walked over to the guy and started with a joke about his very white butt. As they were chatting, and in good terms, she came back to join in the conversation. If the woman didn't like it, she would've stayed in the water. There's a very good chance I'll be using the technique too, assuming my girl isn't along. (A couple approaching another couple seems OK, as long as it's not right away... People need time to adjust.)
Kingpin is actually great at making newbies feel welcome. I've put myself to be a "Kingpin in training", because I'm really good at watching over the events and status of the beach....when I'm there. I'd love to welcome and encourage more people of my generation, because some of us may become the new Elders someday. Also, I'm very much an "information booth". I can almost always answer any question thrown at me accurately, and know more about the news issues that people bring up than they do.
There was another couple around that were my age, but I didn't get a chance to talk to them. Also, I wanted to talk to the group of younger ladies just to figure out their story of how they made it to the beach with no men, but didn't.
While chatting with Kingpin and the newbie couple, Kingpin brought out some photo books. One was his collection from when the religious zealots were blocking the trail to the beach. The other was of him and friends, and a giant "Team Mazo" written with nude bodies on the beach, and taken from the guy that occasionally flies a helicopter to the beach. I hadn't seen these pictures, and was unaware of that event. It was probably before my time... Either way, his "brag book" impressed the newbies.
There were two groups of non-nudists in the area. One was a larger group of canoers that stopped on the unreachable island, many were younger and most were loud as they played around. Another group of 3 guys 2 girls, who walked all the way to the beach, only stripped down to bathing suits on the edge of the beach. They waded out to the reachable island for a while. It's only a guess, but I think they went to the beach to drink, and they were probably underage.
One of the guys I talked to told me a little more about the beach history. He was wondering is they were going to have the Nude Olympics on the 4th, like they have in the past. I haven't heard anything about it if they are, but I assume people will bring games and stuff on the 4th anyway. He said that attendance is way down compared to the past.
From my point of view, the beach is getting more disconnected. This disconnect makes the beach less strong, and makes it hard to plan events and have a sense of community. The web presence of the beach is primarily a group of completely out-of-date sites, a Friends of Mazo Beach yahoo group, and bloggers (All Nudist and me, are there more?). Blogs and forums are limited tools, and are all competing with each-other. I believe that the answer is in a central, community-driven site that provides a variety of tools for collaboration. If I could get the WWNCW to catch on, all sorts of wonderful things would happen.
Lastly, I asked Kingpin if he knew a "Steve & Angie". He didn't recall right away, until I mentioned Skippy. Of course he knew them! However, he didn't know anything more. Sorry guys, I can't send cookies (per your earlier comment) unless I have a last name, address, or another year. Being newlyweds, you're not listed as "Steve & Angie" (or any similar names) in the phonebook just yet. Of the 4 Steve&Angie's I found in the Madison area, none match your house. (I used Microsoft's 'Birds Eye' view, and one of the houses was for sale recently so I could see the inside of the house.) Besides, if I got cookies in the mail from someone I never met -- I probably wouldn't eat them!
All-in-all, I had a great time, but I think I overdid it. My skin has three shades of red: Light red means that it'll fade away and be just as white as before. Medium red turns into a nice tan. Dark red means it's burnt. At the beach, it appeared to be the perfect medium red.... It looked a lot darker when I got home. Oops! Promise me that you won't laugh at my peeling skin on the 4th, ok?
NEXT EPISODE
No bug spray was needed -- the mozzies were surprisingly sparse. The water level was just fine, slightly high but there was plenty of beach available. Almanac said the water was 77 degrees, and that the water may still be a little polluted from the flooding. The beach seemed calm for a Saturday, and consisted of the Elders and random people scatted around the rest of the beach.
I asked about the garlic mustard issues from last time. It wasn't a prank. Captain Planet and Gaia (who were there today too) put it there themselves, and the caller thought that someone else did it. Another blog has posted a picture of this event. (Hmmm.... were they the ones that called Smokey?)
I took a walk around the beach. It's funny that the Elders were chatting away, and most everyone else was dead silent. There were no other chatty groups on the beach. The demographics were surprising today -- there were attractive couples there my age, maybe even a bit younger. There was even a group of just females, my age, which is a very rare sight for any US nudist venue.
Kingpin detected a newbie couple towards the back of the beach. I knew that he would want to talk to them, since he likes to meet everyone on the beach. Ok, maybe just every newbie group that contains one of more females. This is for good reason though: More females that are encouraged to be at the beach means it's more comfortable for other females and brings the gender balance closer to even. Men don't really need the encouragement.
I was curious as to how a professional such as himself would approach them, so I waited. This is really a bigger issue than it seems! A single man walking up to a couple to chat could certainly make the female uncomfortable, meaning they won't come back. The answer: Kingpin waited until she was in the water alone (and after they had been there a while), then walked over to the guy and started with a joke about his very white butt. As they were chatting, and in good terms, she came back to join in the conversation. If the woman didn't like it, she would've stayed in the water. There's a very good chance I'll be using the technique too, assuming my girl isn't along. (A couple approaching another couple seems OK, as long as it's not right away... People need time to adjust.)
Kingpin is actually great at making newbies feel welcome. I've put myself to be a "Kingpin in training", because I'm really good at watching over the events and status of the beach....when I'm there. I'd love to welcome and encourage more people of my generation, because some of us may become the new Elders someday. Also, I'm very much an "information booth". I can almost always answer any question thrown at me accurately, and know more about the news issues that people bring up than they do.
There was another couple around that were my age, but I didn't get a chance to talk to them. Also, I wanted to talk to the group of younger ladies just to figure out their story of how they made it to the beach with no men, but didn't.
While chatting with Kingpin and the newbie couple, Kingpin brought out some photo books. One was his collection from when the religious zealots were blocking the trail to the beach. The other was of him and friends, and a giant "Team Mazo" written with nude bodies on the beach, and taken from the guy that occasionally flies a helicopter to the beach. I hadn't seen these pictures, and was unaware of that event. It was probably before my time... Either way, his "brag book" impressed the newbies.
There were two groups of non-nudists in the area. One was a larger group of canoers that stopped on the unreachable island, many were younger and most were loud as they played around. Another group of 3 guys 2 girls, who walked all the way to the beach, only stripped down to bathing suits on the edge of the beach. They waded out to the reachable island for a while. It's only a guess, but I think they went to the beach to drink, and they were probably underage.
One of the guys I talked to told me a little more about the beach history. He was wondering is they were going to have the Nude Olympics on the 4th, like they have in the past. I haven't heard anything about it if they are, but I assume people will bring games and stuff on the 4th anyway. He said that attendance is way down compared to the past.
From my point of view, the beach is getting more disconnected. This disconnect makes the beach less strong, and makes it hard to plan events and have a sense of community. The web presence of the beach is primarily a group of completely out-of-date sites, a Friends of Mazo Beach yahoo group, and bloggers (All Nudist and me, are there more?). Blogs and forums are limited tools, and are all competing with each-other. I believe that the answer is in a central, community-driven site that provides a variety of tools for collaboration. If I could get the WWNCW to catch on, all sorts of wonderful things would happen.
Lastly, I asked Kingpin if he knew a "Steve & Angie". He didn't recall right away, until I mentioned Skippy. Of course he knew them! However, he didn't know anything more. Sorry guys, I can't send cookies (per your earlier comment) unless I have a last name, address, or another year. Being newlyweds, you're not listed as "Steve & Angie" (or any similar names) in the phonebook just yet. Of the 4 Steve&Angie's I found in the Madison area, none match your house. (I used Microsoft's 'Birds Eye' view, and one of the houses was for sale recently so I could see the inside of the house.) Besides, if I got cookies in the mail from someone I never met -- I probably wouldn't eat them!
All-in-all, I had a great time, but I think I overdid it. My skin has three shades of red: Light red means that it'll fade away and be just as white as before. Medium red turns into a nice tan. Dark red means it's burnt. At the beach, it appeared to be the perfect medium red.... It looked a lot darker when I got home. Oops! Promise me that you won't laugh at my peeling skin on the 4th, ok?
NEXT EPISODE
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E01 - Garlic Mustard Mystery
It was the perfect afternoon to be at the beach! My girlfriend and I Off'd ourselves before starting on the long walk to paradise. About half-way down the trail, a car was parked in a suspicious spot with nobody around. Not only that, but the car was covered in garlic mustard. I joked that it made horrible camouflage, since we could still see the car. From the air, the bright-colored car would probably be invisible -- that's how much of the plant was on it! The only reasonable conclusion I could come up with is that they were keeping it off the ground so that the seeds don't spread.
Further down the trail, we saw Captain Planet and Gaia pulling the invasive plant. It was obvious that the car we saw belonged to them. They recognized me, since they saw me only a couple weeks earlier for the road cleanup. (Which, by the way, the nude hiker agrees with. Get out and do this too!) I offered bug spray, which they readily accepted since theirs was in the car. I didn't say anything about their car, even though the obvious question was right on the tip of my tongue.
Once we finally made it to the beach, we settled down next to the Elders. I already knew them from last year because, obviously, they are always at the beach. The Elders are always fun to talk to, because they are very opinionated! They proceeded to tell me how bad the Diligents are, though not as bad as the Contenders. I'm friends with the Diligents, and can understand their opinion, but I don't agree with it. I'll approach the Contenders at a later date and see if the accusations hold true.
After complaining about other sub-groups on the beach, they mentioned that they might start their own. They wanted to learn how to start and maintain a website, since one of the members has a lot of time on their hands. They wanted an official organization, with open books and better communication. I told them that the web work has already been done, and it's called the WWNCW. All they need to do is participate. If everyone participated, we'd have a very strong beach!
Kingpin enlightened my day when he said I was the "future lifeblood" of the beach. (In context, he was talking about my generation, but I can take it personal, right?) As Mr. Future-Lifeblood, my goal is to get everyone at the beach to work together instead of splitting into a million sub-groups and stepping on each-others toes. I didn't say any of that to Kingpin, but probably will next time!
Smokey got a call, and he couldn't stop laughing. Someone informed him about the garlic mustard covered car. Apparently it's wasn't on purpose -- it was a prank. Whodunnit? Nobody knew, but I'll ask about it next time to see if the mystery is solved. It must've been a lot of work to put that much of it on the car, so someone was serious with their intent.
After a bit, Captain Planet and Gaia made it to the beach and kept their distance from the Elders and us. It was late, and the beach was thinning out, so we decided to put our clothes on and head out. As we were leaving, we were called over to where Captain Planet was. He asked for my email address, which I gave him, and he said he'd be in contact.
So far, nobody has emailed and there have been no new users on the WWNCW. Steve and Angie posted that they were at the beach. I don't remember any "famous beach dog" being there, so they must've been there in the morning. I'll catch up to them eventually! They seem to be the dominant Mazo-area blog, despite being the younger of the two, which means they must have really good social connections. If I could achieve their support, it would be a great benefit to the beach and to nudists in general. (I know they're listening.)
NEXT EPISODE
Further down the trail, we saw Captain Planet and Gaia pulling the invasive plant. It was obvious that the car we saw belonged to them. They recognized me, since they saw me only a couple weeks earlier for the road cleanup. (Which, by the way, the nude hiker agrees with. Get out and do this too!) I offered bug spray, which they readily accepted since theirs was in the car. I didn't say anything about their car, even though the obvious question was right on the tip of my tongue.
Once we finally made it to the beach, we settled down next to the Elders. I already knew them from last year because, obviously, they are always at the beach. The Elders are always fun to talk to, because they are very opinionated! They proceeded to tell me how bad the Diligents are, though not as bad as the Contenders. I'm friends with the Diligents, and can understand their opinion, but I don't agree with it. I'll approach the Contenders at a later date and see if the accusations hold true.
After complaining about other sub-groups on the beach, they mentioned that they might start their own. They wanted to learn how to start and maintain a website, since one of the members has a lot of time on their hands. They wanted an official organization, with open books and better communication. I told them that the web work has already been done, and it's called the WWNCW. All they need to do is participate. If everyone participated, we'd have a very strong beach!
Kingpin enlightened my day when he said I was the "future lifeblood" of the beach. (In context, he was talking about my generation, but I can take it personal, right?) As Mr. Future-Lifeblood, my goal is to get everyone at the beach to work together instead of splitting into a million sub-groups and stepping on each-others toes. I didn't say any of that to Kingpin, but probably will next time!
Smokey got a call, and he couldn't stop laughing. Someone informed him about the garlic mustard covered car. Apparently it's wasn't on purpose -- it was a prank. Whodunnit? Nobody knew, but I'll ask about it next time to see if the mystery is solved. It must've been a lot of work to put that much of it on the car, so someone was serious with their intent.
After a bit, Captain Planet and Gaia made it to the beach and kept their distance from the Elders and us. It was late, and the beach was thinning out, so we decided to put our clothes on and head out. As we were leaving, we were called over to where Captain Planet was. He asked for my email address, which I gave him, and he said he'd be in contact.
So far, nobody has emailed and there have been no new users on the WWNCW. Steve and Angie posted that they were at the beach. I don't remember any "famous beach dog" being there, so they must've been there in the morning. I'll catch up to them eventually! They seem to be the dominant Mazo-area blog, despite being the younger of the two, which means they must have really good social connections. If I could achieve their support, it would be a great benefit to the beach and to nudists in general. (I know they're listening.)
NEXT EPISODE
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Mazo Manor - S1E00 - Pilot
I've already been frequenting Mazo Beach. As a social chameleon, I've accidentally made friends with two opposing groups. What played out is something that reminded me of the TV show Meerkat Manor -- the only soap opera on TV where everyone is naked and fuzzy. So here is the official start of: Mazo Manor! The text-only show portraying the natrual lives of au natural tribes.
I'll try to keep things anonymous, but stay true to the developments as I witness them. The people at Mazo Beach will likely be able to figure out who's who, and I doubt that any would learn of new developments via this blog. The word spreads pretty quickly there, even between groups. Plus, I'll have at least a week of delay before I post things to ensure that it's all old news. If there's any trouble, I'll edit/terminate the series as needed.
Hopefully this series ends up being better than Maslin Beach (review), and a bit more exciting than the Mazo posts at All Nudist. I'll show the drama, comedy, conflict, and adventure of life at the nude beach. I'll try to mingle my way into each of the groups (which I planned to do anyway since I like everyone there), and approach issues from all of their observed angles. My goals, opinions, and experiences will be shared in the storyline.
The groups are as follows: The Elders, who aren't exactly old, represent a group that have been regulars to the beach for a long time. They have impressively dark tans and are always well prepared for a day at the beach. It's safe to say they know everything, and everyone, at the beach. The Diligents, who are a small group that organize the road cleanup, and occasional other events. The Contenders, who certainly put on a show when they're around. The South-Enders, who hopefully stay out of the show. And The Clusters, an always-changing group that forms in a specific spot, and has an unusually even gender balance among members.
Specific actors that I've met and named so far include Kingpin, Smokey, and Almanac from the Elders, Captain Planet and Gaia (pronounced Guy-ah) from the Diligents, and the elusive Steve and Angie ('All Nudist' bloggers) who I believe are part of the Clusters. Just like the meerkats, group names and actor names will be created as needed. I don't mean to offend anyone with the names, but I don't want to use real names either...except those who already have open blogs.
Without further to do -- let's start the show!
NEXT EPISODE
I'll try to keep things anonymous, but stay true to the developments as I witness them. The people at Mazo Beach will likely be able to figure out who's who, and I doubt that any would learn of new developments via this blog. The word spreads pretty quickly there, even between groups. Plus, I'll have at least a week of delay before I post things to ensure that it's all old news. If there's any trouble, I'll edit/terminate the series as needed.
Hopefully this series ends up being better than Maslin Beach (review), and a bit more exciting than the Mazo posts at All Nudist. I'll show the drama, comedy, conflict, and adventure of life at the nude beach. I'll try to mingle my way into each of the groups (which I planned to do anyway since I like everyone there), and approach issues from all of their observed angles. My goals, opinions, and experiences will be shared in the storyline.
The groups are as follows: The Elders, who aren't exactly old, represent a group that have been regulars to the beach for a long time. They have impressively dark tans and are always well prepared for a day at the beach. It's safe to say they know everything, and everyone, at the beach. The Diligents, who are a small group that organize the road cleanup, and occasional other events. The Contenders, who certainly put on a show when they're around. The South-Enders, who hopefully stay out of the show. And The Clusters, an always-changing group that forms in a specific spot, and has an unusually even gender balance among members.
Specific actors that I've met and named so far include Kingpin, Smokey, and Almanac from the Elders, Captain Planet and Gaia (pronounced Guy-ah) from the Diligents, and the elusive Steve and Angie ('All Nudist' bloggers) who I believe are part of the Clusters. Just like the meerkats, group names and actor names will be created as needed. I don't mean to offend anyone with the names, but I don't want to use real names either...except those who already have open blogs.
Without further to do -- let's start the show!
NEXT EPISODE
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