So, because of our unique connection and reputation with nudist parks, we are always keen to find one near places we may be touring and check them out. We did find one such place in Idaho and were fortunate enough to be asked to come play. Due to the nature of the gig, there are no photos. (Sorry fans!) But you can take our word that it was a wonderful show, and quite a surprise to a bunch of people who had no idea what to expect from a โGlam Folkโ duo out of Tacoma, WA.
My favorite part of that day actually had nothing to do with the show. The load-in was a bit rough, and it took quite a bit of effort to get parked, let alone get our gear to the stage. So, we all worked up a bit of a sweat doing so. Once all the gear was to brought to the stage, we told Rudy he could go up to the pool and swim while we set up all the equipment. He gladly agreed and headed up to the pool; bucket hat, Crocs, sunscreen, a sarong, and a smile. At one point, Jared was warming up his trombone (Jared here: Literally. Not in any kind of metaphoric and highly inappropriate way.), and Rudyโs little voice shouted from up at the pool, โSoundinโ great, dad!โ While Rudy was up at the pool, he and some ladies began tossing a ball over a volleyball net that was across the pool and just casually making conversation and having a good time. Before he knew it, several others had joined and, by the time Jared and I got up to the pool, Rudy and eight other adults were involved in a full game of water volleyball, laughing, giving each other a hard time, and altogether having a blast! I was so happy to see our little confident man just having a grand old time and being treated with respect and equality by the adults. Jared jumped in the pool to even out the teams and joined the volleyball game on the team opposite Rudy. Father pitted against son in a battle to the deathโฆok, so not that. But theyโve been rewatching the original Star Wars films, and itโs just where my brain went.
Whenever we talk about the nudist parks that weโve attended with Rudy, the number one question we get asked is, โDo you make Rudy get naked?โ, or, โHow does Rudy handle all of that?โ Well, itโs pretty simple. We have been bringing him around those kinds of places since he was a baby, so he doesnโt see it as โweirdโ, โawkwardโ, or โunnaturalโ. However, with his changing body and his ever-widening observation skills, itโs no secret that he sees more, takes more in, and has very strong feelings and opinions about the world around him. That doesnโt just go away at a nudist park. So we encourage him to always check in with himself and his feelings, be honest about what he thinks, and then let his instincts direct him. This is all to say that we never force Rudy to โget nakedโ, which even sounds terrible as I type it. There have been years when he has declined the invitation to attend our beloved โNudestockโ, and although we love having him with us, we always respect him. In years of late, he has shown great confidence in himself and is not ashamed or timid. Initially, he takes a bit to get used to it, but so do I. I truly think Jared is the only one out of the three of us who would live his life in the buff if there were no consequences. Perhaps itโs all the years he spent in โmooningโ training! To know Jared is to have witnessed his bare butt sneaking a peek every now and then. โRain or shine, heโll show his behindโโฆ please donโt expect these lyrics to appear in any CS tune, although, I may have just come up with his new burlesque taglineโฆ
Since we have no pictures of the gig* / park / volleyball game, here are some darling pictures of the dogs we left behind that we love so very much.
*(Jared here: By the way, the gig went very well, everyone was very sweet and lovely, even helping us carry our gear for the difficult load-out, and it’s fairly likely we’ll be playing there again.)
We have a few days off ahead and Iโm not sure when weโll be able to grab some WiFi, or if our stories will even be entertaining enough to blog about, but if not, Iโll lie. See you soon Dutch John, Utah!
