Heeeey! Let's take off our pants! Let's get naked, maaaaan! YEAHHHH! Alllll-RIGHT! |
Science degrees are hard to finish towards the end, as is completely getting out of motorcycling, learning a new job and evaluating for it, acquiring new clearances, having your cat die in your arms, titling a #006, multi-magazine-featured 2006 Pontiac Solstice Mallett, convincing the bank the VIN is not just a base-model, having your phone brick due to a final and fatal software update, loathingly replacing it with a new model, installing a weather-station kcocolor394, and removing yourself permanently from Facebook. These aren't excuses, these are just facts.
Now that my ex-wife is dead, I can work on making a better tomato! RIP Patty Duke. |
Of my travels in Life, I've noticed some odd things. Usually these odd things are directly the product of odd people. Let's face it, there are some odd folks out there. Sure, the "crazies" in New York, perhaps some living in the sewers, banging manhole (sorry, not personhole) covers with metal sticks sounding messages in the night that it's safe to come out exist. We sort of expect crazies in New York, heck they love Hillary after all with no political knowledge or comprehension. Love that ban on large sodas. Glad legislation took care of that, spent tax-money to get it to go through.
VOTE for MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!... HA! |
Hello! I'm a nude old man! Oh noooooooo! You want a Werther's Original? |
Hey, guys! Someone's comin'! Let's get extra wet and nude! |
See ya at Checkpoint Charlie, Soldier! |
Somewhat modern 2008 USAF dorm room. |
2016 dorm room, USAF. |
From the film Super Troopers. Forced shower and delousing powder actually powdered sugar. |
1940's military basic-training toilet design. |
When we get back from the War, we'll score ALL dem dames! circa 1943 |
Airman Beaker is concerned Officer Honeydew has made a dangerous error with volatiles. |
Group showers were normal-ish. |
Get in yer group shower, airman! It's showah-TIME! |
What bothers me is that you'll see old men over 60 walking around in the gym locker rooms.. naked. Now common-sense would dictate a towel wrapped or covering one's "junk" as it were, covering one's Everyday Glory. Something. Nope. Naked old men.. walking around.. very naked.. often wet.
I took a snapshot of this man in the gym locker room. His response, "HELLO! I'm Naked-Man!" |
Hello there. It's perfectly normal that I'm naked here. |
Grandpa? Why are we doing this? You'll see, you'll see... get ready! |
I did a lot of research on this. The argument is that back "in the day" this was considered natural and normal. Well, at my age now, I can honestly attest that this is not the case. I could make a defense for them when I was 30, but at my age now, no one did this in the 1970's. No one. No one was just nude doing their business in a public place, and certainly not all day.
A completely normal guy shaving at home with a towel wrap circa 1950's. |
Back in the 1950's, men would get out of a shower and wrap a towel. Often, it was simply called a "wrap". Some existed with elastic bands like a cheap, terrycloth kilt, but it was normal to wrap a towel around the lower half and shave in a mirror. No one would shave pure naked in a gym. WHY is someone SHAVING in a GYM in the FIRST PLACE?! Very odd. More scrutiny and research as well as pressed testimonials have these men suggesting that "We all did it that way" or "At this age, we just don't care!" Some examples are that they announce that they've lived their lives so long and so they can do what they want. Some say that you shouldn't look or be bothered by it. Ah-huh.. Riiiight. There's something more to this than turning the blame back around. There is. Why would a man use a gym-supplied hair-dryer, place his foot up on the sink counter naked and dry his junk facing people? This is not uncommon! This happens a lot! Some even wait until someone new enters the room then immediately go to it! I remember once entering a gym bathroom and there'd be a lookout very close to the entrance corridor. Once I entered, he'd rush over to go to "ball drying" quickly. Others would then come out to present themselves and strut about. This has happened more than once in different places in different states.
Sums it up right here. |
Why are we sitting here naked all day, not working-out? Hey, there you two fellows! I like that you're naked! |
Well, we haven't taken a shower yet. Better dry off our faces for a bit. |
Yeah! It sure is nice lying back, spread-eagle here in this locker room! |
What? This is perfectly normal behavior in a gym, sir! Quit looking at me, you pervert! |
I try to ignore these folk who insist on nudity, feigning the reasoning that they're content with it and it's "natural" to be naked in a gym locker-room. There's more to it than that. They prefer nudity. They want to be nude, but why? What's going on here? It's cringe-worthy to some and I consider it abnormal behavior. There's no gay sex going on though, it's less than that. At first, I originally thought it was an attempt for a gay hookup. Some very old men can't get a girl anymore and look for that. Some old men revert to homosexual behavior in their final years for something to try or do because their time is short and what the heck. This behavior is decidedly not that. It's not gay behavior. There's nothing erotic going on with it. There's no flirting or teasing or touching of any sort, no gay passes or winks or anything. These folk admit they exist to each other but move past each other uninterested. Actually, there's little interest in other humans at all. A few chats but the whole focus is the nudity of it, not the interaction with humans in any way except to be nude near them, and for no reason except to be nude near them.
Haaaa-aaay!!! (Now imagine this, all of them 40 years older). |
No old man is in this good shape in the gym. |
What? What's wrong with being naked in a gym locker room? Quit your whining! Sheesh. Loser. Nude-Time is now. |
Since there's a lack of communal nudity for the sake of it, gym locker-rooms are the last socially acceptable place to simply be nude amongst others in a non-sexual, communal sort of way. It's a mentality that might exist with a younger crowd, but I haven't witnessed anyone under the age of 60 doing this. Nudism hasn't been in-vogue as much with later generations for some reason, probably due to no counter-culture involvement, though it's similar like emo-kids or goth-kids as a counter-statement. Some adults goth-it-up or emo-it-up if you've noticed. Arguments against annoyance by these guys try and shrug it off like I mentioned earlier or that nudity in gym locker-rooms was normal back "in their day". It was not. No one "hung out" all day in a gym locker-room and stayed naked. No, this is not the case. They may have been shocked at a young age by that fact, but the reality is, these men (and women) are nudists (peppered, likely with a bit of exobitionism based on the distantly-minded taboo of it). Men waiting behind lockers to awkwardly walk out when you near approach to just pretend to be casual about it, but honestly, they delight in it. These men want to be nude and possibly nude amongst others being nude. If you are not nude, that's okay. They don't insist on everyone around being nude, but the acceptability of nudism is paramount. Nude goings-on for the joy of just being nude. What's awkward a bit is that they really can't go anywhere but the locker-room or sauna or shower, so they're a bit trapped like they're in a mini commune. Because of this, they can do locker-room things to keep themselves occupied, the paramount of that is showering which you could do once, maybe twice in a stay, so that's saved for special. No sex is going on. It's very much not sexual. It's just the comfort of being communally nude. Your surprise is a little treat, maybe inside, maybe on that exhobitionist level, but it's subtle as a slight, added benefit.
Come on IN, the water's FINE! Don't mind Roscoe. He's a scoot! |
That's my take on it. I'm not certain I agree with it, but these people's mental state is that it's not completely insane, really. They have boundaries. They're not going to jump on your kid or you or anyone. That's not the purpose or want. No. They do this in a socially acceptable place instead of behind some bushes or out in the woods together, which would be indecent-exposure and illegal and likely get arrested. The nudist camp might be too expensive per-day or too far away. This is conveniently located and perfectly acceptable (well, mostly so). With this in-mind, I'm a little better for it and it doesn't bother me as much. I deducted this on my own, mostly because I'm an expert of things and stuff and very clever. So don't panic, they're just being happy (in a weird, harmless way).
I still find it weird and unacceptable, however.
Here's your cheesecake.
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and for the ladies, your cosplay beef-cake.. hot hot hot!
Hahahaha! Quaid! Start the reactor!
Out.
"It's perfectly normal that I'm naked here." Yes, it is. Taken from the Wikipedia page on "Gym": "A gym, short for gymnasium, is an open air or covered location for gymnastics, athletics, and gymnastic services...The word is derived from the ancient Greek gymnasium [gymnos]...The Greek word gymnasium means "school for naked exercise" [also, "a place to be naked", or "a place to train naked" See, Wikipedia page, "Gymnasium (ancient Greece)"] and was used to designate a locality for the education of young men, including physical education (gymnastics, i.e. exercise) which was customarily performed naked..." The men in the gym who aren't comfortable with naked men in the gym are a relatively new breed. Old customs die hard, even if their roots are ancient. Next time you think, or say, "Why are these old men always naked in the gym?", rephrase it to be, ""Why are these old men always naked in the place to be naked?", and hopefully you'll understand why you're the odd man out here.
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