Naked Haven

I've now become a regular at my gym. I'm starting to know people by name. I chitchat with the black ladies while we run in place trying to get rid of the jiggly parts on ourselves that we grab and kvetch about to each other in the women's only exercise room. I have a workout coach. I have a locker. I'm completely at ease in this environment...that is until I realized what a naked friendly place it is.

Exhibit(ionist) A: A couple of days ago...Tuesday perhaps...I walk into the locker room after an invigorating workout and I see a woman standing nude in front of her locker, engrossed in a book. I quickly averted my eyes.

Exhibit(ionist) B: I'm changing into a bathing suit in front of my locker in a manner something like: take off shoes, take off pants, bend at waist with backside to locker to swap underpinings for bottom of bathing suit, pulling suit 3/4 way up the torso, turning to face locker and slipping off shirt, pulling suit up to bra, swapping bra for top portion of suit, hooking back of suit and tossing towel over the shoulders. Step out of sock, place foot on flip flop, repeat for other foot. Woman at locker across walkway: take off all clothes, walk around bench a few times, get some water from fountain, return to locker and put on suit.

Exhibit(ionist)C: Tonight I stepped into the sauna and saw a young woman about my age reclining on the top shelf/bunk/ledge/whatever it's called and she's nude. I was shocked but sat down anyway and proceeded to make small talk. She was pretty cool - she works for a steel company and will be moving to Nashville sometime later this summer. She went to college at Liberty University, in the same town where the awesome, awesome Ms.Lynelle went to college (Lynchburg). I find it funny that a person who went to a "fundamentally Baptist university" relaxes nude in saunas only because the fundamentally baptist never struck me as "naked people."

Anyway...in conclusion, if people want to run around nude, that's fine with me. It's just a bit jarring at first as I'm not used to seeing completely nude people just chilling out in a rather blase manner. I'm highly amused by this. It's very unlikely that I'll join in their ranks, but for now, I'll just get used to the shock and awe feeling of my brain trying to register nudity.