An online journal celebrating the joys of living bare with pride! This site usually publishes every Monday and Friday. I may be irreverent but I am no way irrelevant! My preferred personal pronouns are he, him, his.
What makes me laugh? Laughter is the best medicine. But it’s something we -including myself take for granted. I love to laugh. I love a good joke. I believe I have a dark sense of humor and nothing to me like stand up. Dice Clay, Chris Rock, Margaret Cho, Carol Burnett are some of my […]
Re-bloggers Note: I strongly encourage all of my readers to seriously consider to follow my “blogging brother and buddy” site here! The next scheduled post entry for my site is planned for Wednesday, May 31, 2013, and the proposed topic is: “Bottoms-Up! May, 2013!”
The arrival of the Spring season is usually noted as a time of rebirth, renewal and hope. Our world opens up, gradually, as nature returns and the barren, cold and drab days of winter slowly begin to disappear. Growth and foliage are restored to our environment.
For those of us who are loyal bare practitioners, excitement accompanies this transition from one season into the next. Why all the anxious energy? Anticipation! A return to our home, our essence – and our nakedness in our natural world!
I know at this point some people are rolling their eyes, shaking their heads and thinking, “What the hell is his problem?” Seasons change. True. It happens annually. True. Why all the excitement? Anticipation!
Let us face reality. Some people become eager at Christmas. Some for weddings. The same is true for graduations. For births. For retirement. For the arrival of yet another weekend away from the job.
For those of us who are bare practitioners (gentle reminder: same gender loving naturists/nudists), our eagerness is the return of Spring and our return – clothes free, of course – to nature! Anticipation! Our excitement is based on the fact that we view nature as part of our bare existence: our home. This phenomena becomes our homecoming!
Spring stripper!
The 19th Century American author, poet, essayist, journalist and humanist Walt Whitman (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an advocate for both nature and clothes freedom during his lifetime. Below is a sampling of his thoughts entitled: “ASun-bathed Nakedness.”
“Never before did I get so close to Nature; never before did she come so close to me…Nature was naked, and I was also…Sweet, sane, still Nakedness in Nature! – ah if poor, sick, prurient humanity in cities might really know you once more! Is not nakedness indecent? No, not inherently. It is your thought, your sophistication, your fear, your respectability, that is indecent. There come moods when these clothes of ours are not only too irksome to wear, but are themselves indecent.”
Given the title and theme of his work, Whitman leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind on his observations regarding nature and nudity. Both my spouse, Aaron, and I agree with his opinions – to a certain extent. Our dissention is based on his generalizations about urban (city dwellers) feelings about nudity.
Even though his observations are from an earlier era and ours are on a more contemporary basis and the variations in language usage, the reality is that persons, regardless of where they live, usually have similar reactions to nudity. Aaron and I live in an urban environment (Arlington, Virginia – less than five miles south of Washington, D.C.) and despite the congestion, we were able to get bare together in an expansive neighborhood public park. The first picture above confirms this.
A park trails entrance!
The above photograph supports our position on urban bare practitioners. Just as in our own personal experiences, Aaron and I are most definitely not the only two in our neighborhood who consider natural social nudity as “indecent.” We may be a minority, but we are absolutely not alone!
Be fore we condemn through assumptions and stereotypes, we should all take a moment and carefully consider every alternative. Certainly, not all of Walt Whitman’s neighbors endorsed his philosophy on the compatibility of nature and nakedness!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Wednesday, March 29, 2023, and the proposed topic is: “Your Buttocks = Historic Artifact!” (reprint)
The heading from my first website: A Guy Without Boxers!
Updating ReNude Pride needs to take place monthly – if not more often! However, I’m only a human who happens to be both the author and the editor here (both unpaid positions)! In addition, I have a full-time job and a full-time and desirable spouse!
Fortunately, Aaron, my spouse, and I are both bare practitioners – as often as possible given our busy schedules! Therefore, we don’t waste an awful lot of precious energy or time in order to get dressed and/or to become undressed. Usually, each task is undertaken separately only once a day!
My original gravatar for A GuyWithout Boxers!
Aaron has agreed to assume the duties of author/editor of the A Guy Without Boxers page here at ReNude Pride. His contribution to reducing the stress in my life and for undertaking a more productive role here. Now, I think we all know where this duty will take us – both ourselves!
A little passion goes a very long way!
It shouldn’t take “rocket science” to figure out the answer to that question. In order to guarantee an appropriate conclusion, the above .gif image should deliver you there!
Back to Aaron: he’s already planned four different post entries for this page for 2023. He’s already prepared and entered a brief introduction and his first posting for this year! Way to go, Aaron! There may be hope for an eventual retirement for me, yet!
Ripping off his boxers!
To review Aaron’s efforts, click the direct link to this page that is listed below. Have fun and remember no clothing allowed when you visit this site! Please note that to access the current post entry, you must scroll down the page to gain the desired posting, the exact opposite process from this blog! WordPress delight!
Rohan, the Nubian-Ikigai, featured here in and interview on November 25, 2022, and a guest author here on December 1, 2022: World AIDS Day has officially opened and is now publishing his blog: Crossing the Styx! The site features an About Me page and his initial post entry.
The Red Ribbon symbolizes World AIDS Day and HIV/AIDS awareness!
Proudly show that you are aware and that you care. Wear your red ribbon!
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Basic Facts About HIV/AIDS:
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
AIDS is a result of being infected with HIV.
HIV is not spread through everyday, casual contact.
A physician is needed to diagnose AIDS.
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Red ribbon = HIV/AIDS awareness and concern!
“It’s not who we are, but rather what we do that determines the risk factor of HIV infection.” ~ Red Cross HIV/AIDS prevention education ~
Follow protocols for reducing HIV infections:
Do not share needles, syringes or drug use tools.
Avoid contact with body fluids.
Treat everyone with care and respect.
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Since the first World AIDS Day observance on December 1, 1988. The date was first conceived in August, 1987, by James Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers for the Global Programme on AIDS at the World Health Organisation in Geneva, Switzerland.
Each year, Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have released messages for both patients and health care providers on World AIDS Day. They have also publicly offered prayers for a world living with HIV.
In the USA, the White House (presidential home) began observing World AIDS Day under the administration of President Clinton and the iconic display of a 28-foot massive Red AIDS Awareness Ribbon on the North Portico of the building. It was the first banner to prominently hang from the White House since the presidency of Abraham Lincoln.
Get tested! Know your HIV status!
Remember: a latex condom every time!
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A Red Ribbon on World AIDS Day!
Public Testimonial
by Rohan, the Nubian-Ikigai
It was in the late autumn of 1978 that I came into this world. My mom would always tell me that I was an overdue birth; as it I didn’t want to leave the womb. I see it like being cuddled up in bed. Who’d want to leave such a comfy spot? To this very day, that has still remained my all-time favourite activity.
So being born in 1978 meant that I grew up in the 80’s. Wow! What a decade! Madonna, Punk fashions, Hurricane Gilbert and skyrocketing food prices – if you’re Jamaican – and…AIDS!
Being an island didn’t mean that we were isolated from world issues, especially when your island is renowned for its culture, its beaches, its sunshine and sex. I saw all the AIDS prevention ads on TV: “AIDS kills,” “stick to one steady partner,” “use a condom,” and “you can’t tell by looking.” I grew up scared! I grew up being scared of actually growing up!
Throughout high school, we teens would laugh about stuff pertaining to sex and sexuality, there was little or no sex education in school and what we learned came from porn, the dancehall music or the local pastor. The radio broadcast the death of Freddie Mercury. I remember that so well because I was wearing a Queen t-shirt at that very moment! I heard of Arthur Ashe; in school we talked and laughed about the death of Rock Hudson – I didn’t know who he was at that time. But the dearest tragedy for me was when I learned that Olympic diver Greg Louganis was diagnosed HIV+. I was personally touched because I knew who he was. He was my hero, a gay Olympic champion! And, of course, during the 80’s and 90’s, they constantly reminded us of the growing numbers of new cases.
Greg Louganis, Olympic gold medal winner!
So as I fast forward a bit to young adult, HIV/AIDS was less and less stranger. It was now a reality. It had faces! And faces that I knew!
I made friends with people working in the local AIDS support association and the church I attended did volunteering and outreach. Being scared didn’t shield me from the harsh realities of my life. I wasn’t going to be spared. AIDS was not going to have pity. Not on this little island boy. No sir!… Familiar faces kept vanishing, boys I fell in love with kept getting sick: Julian, Everton, Fred, Frank. A church member was dying. I saw their faces. I saw their bodies lying on the hospital beds. I saw them agonizing. I saw them dying…I loved them. I loved them as hard as I could. I held them in my heart; it’s all I could have done.
There was only love, that’s what they needed, not pity or shame, but Love. I understood that. I had that gift.
Allisson was my elder. She and I were friends, we weren’t that close. She was the first child my dad got from his first relationship, so, we were as close as two half-siblings who were ten years apart could be. She had her life and her family: boyfriend, son and daughter. I checked in with her as often as I could. I still thank God for that last moment I spent with her. It was in the local store where she worked. Allisson was standing there behind the counter. She looked so thin, so pale, so not all together there. Nothing could have prepared me for that grim phone call I’d received a few years later…AIDS took my beloved sister.
Princess Diana: first person of prominence to casually greet a person living with AIDS.
To be honest I did my best to play it safe, but I also took my fair share of risks. I even slept with the enemy. Why I didn’t remember all those faces, all those bodies I saw, covered in sores, laying on those hospital beds? Why didn’t I remember the agony? I should have ran! But I didn’t…I wanted cuddles instead. It only takes one encounter. I slept with this guy twice in the Summer of 2005 I was diagnosed in the Fall of that very same year. Painful urine and a creamy white substance leaking from my penis made me go to the doctor real quick.
I was alone when I went to the doctor’s, I was alone when the doctor broke the news, I was alone when I went to the hospital to have his diagnosis confirmed. I was alone to face the stark reality that I was not going to be living a normal life. Oddly though, the news that I was HIV positive wasn’t as earth shattering. It didn’t have that devastating effect as I had imagined. I didn’t scream, or cry, or ask God why? Maybe it’s my way of dealing with trauma: in silence.
My explanation is that, growing up gay prepared me for days like these. If I could handle growing up gay in a homophobic society such as mine, anything else would be a piece of cake. I kind of figured that, somehow it’s kind of logical, sad way to think. I agree it’s a bit fatalistic: being gay isn’t a death sentence! But for me it was. So I imagine I was accepting my fate. My mom was right. A gay life is one of damnation and hellfire. And this was exactly what I deserved.
Since then, I’ve celebrated seventeen birthdays, visited six countries and changed two jobs. I have met my beautiful niece who is also living with the disease as she was contaminated at birth and I am currently in a stable long-term relationship. I am disciplined regarding my meds and my combat still rages more than ever. I can’t say that I have had to face discrimination regarding AIDS as not that many people know. I do my best to stay healthy, “Sound Mind, Sound Body.” I workout regularly and I combat negativity. I have grown to love myself, understand and own who I am and cultivate self-worth. I was young but now I am mature, I have seen my friends fallen by the wayside but I am still here. I had to learn gratitude.
Living with HIV is a daily reminder that I need to turn fear and trauma into triumph. I have had a new beginning, renewed hope. A fighting chance. I have to believe, not only in myself but in whatever higher power there may be. I need to believe that somewhere out there and also within, there is a greater power…love! Doesn’t love conquer all?
Rohan, the Nubian-Ikigai, our guest author!
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I am very appreciative of Rohan, the Nubian-Ikigai for sharing his personal testimonial with all of us here on ReNude Pride on the occasion of World AIDS Day,2022. His courage and honesty is a remarkable and significant accomplishment that indeed reflects his dedication to dispelling myths and misinformation about being same gender loving (gay) as well as about living with HIV. He is a commendable guest author and I sincerely invite him to contribute whenever possible!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for tomorrow, Friday, December 2, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Seasonal Signs!”
The late same gender loving author, E. Lynn Harris
My BRAT-buddy and current best friend, Jay, and I first met one another at a bare practitioner social gathering on Saturday, January 3, 2009. Within minutes after introducing ourselves, we discovered a shared addiction: we’re both E. Lynn Harris dedicated! Perhaps obsessed would be a better description. In just a couple of hours, our introduction became an acquaintanceship that immediately evolved into a friendship that has remained “fast and solid” ever since.
BRAT represents “barely recognized as textile.” An affectionate yet sarcastic invention of Jay’s partner, Raheem, to summarize our unique relationship in today’s extraordinary world. Click the link: BRAT! to read more.
E. Lynn Harris (pictured above) was a noteworthy and popular male same gender loving author who first published in the 1990’s and tragically died in July, 2009. He was the respected talent who opened the door to the Black gay experience for millions no matter their racial heritage, gender or sexual orientation.
Avatar: Jay and Roger meeting!
Jay and I read and discuss books throughout the year – along with our our interests. For the past several years, I have featured some of those titles here. I try to do a post entry in honour of E. Lynn Harris every year during the early summer so to commemorate his birthdate (June 20, 1955) and the date of his death (July 23, 2009). I think he would appreciate this style of recognition as a justified tribute to his devotion to writing and to the reading of books..
The situation is different for this year’s reading. An acquaintance of mine, Rodney Lofton, died earlier this year. We had co-presented sessions on HIV/AIDS prevention education for the Red Cross and he was a novel author in his work. To learn more, click the link:Our Paths Crossed. Please read for more information.
I had not read Rodney’s novel since it was published in 2009. Aaron, my spouse, Jay and Raheem had never read the book at all. So our “reading group” expanded this year to include not only Jay and myself but our “significant others” as well.
Jointly reading naturally!
Jay had read Rodney’s autobiographical work, The Day I Stopped Being Pretty, A Memoir when I sent to him a copy after sharing with him my acquaintance with the recently deceased man. It was after he finished that we agreed to read Lofton’s next novel in honour of E. Lynn Harris. We both believed that Harris would be comfortable in being remembered by the work of a fellow same gender loving African-American male.
Rodney Lofton posing beside his portrait!
A likeness and painting of author and AIDS prevention educator Rodney Lofton is displayed in the lobby of a charity he served. Below is the cover of the book that is the subject of today’s post entry here on ReNude Pride.
Today’s feature cover!
No More Tomorrows is a moving and poignant love story of two men – one, Mark Jones, is HIV positive; the other, Kevin Williams, is HIV negative. It is also the story of same gender loving men living and loving in the era of HIV/AIDS. Author Rodney Lofton, himself diagnosed as HIV+ in the early 1990’s, composed this – his first fiction novel – with both insight and wisdom. This book was published on June 30, 2009.
No More Tomorrows begins at the end. Mark Jones awakes from, another restless and sleepless night that he has endured for weeks. It is when he if fully awake that he realizes that this day is his very last day of life. Twenty years after being diagnosed with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), Mark spends his morning reflecting on his life and love of Kevin Williams.
Facing a life of living with HIV, Mark opts to get busy living instead of the direction to get busy dying. Whereas tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us, de decides to host his own “celebration of life” party where he meets Kevin, who becomes the love of his life. Kevin, learning that Mark is living with HIV faces his own dilemma – pursuing his attraction to Mark and “going the distance” with him or avoiding the situation altogether and safely keeping himself uninvolved.
Mark and Kevin: in love!
The subtitle of No More Tomorrows is aptly “Two Lives, Two Stories, One Love.” Kevin and Mark not only commit to a relationship together; they also develop a deep and sincere love for one another. This novel shares their bromance from beginning to end – and beyond.
Throughout the book, Kevin and Mark give their individual perspectives on their relationship and the strong bond and devotion that engulfs them. Lofton’s story is both positive and promising, even as Mark confronts his final day and dedicates a legacy for his love.
No More Tomorrows concludes with Kevin on the first anniversary of Mark’s death. This brief epilogue brings a moment of profound sadness into a celebration of love and smiles – and a tear of joy!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, July 25, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “Tan-Lines: Tell-Tale Signs!”
I apologize for this last-minute post entry for today. My first-cousin’s (Michael) soon-to-be spouse, Ropati’s, father died and they had to fly to Tonga (South Pacific – Polynesia) in order to attend his funeral. His death was totally unexpected and the family was frantic trying to organize the service. There was a boating accident that caused his demise.
Michael and Ropati live in Virginia, approximately three hours by automobile from Arlington. They needed care for there dog and her two puppies. I am providing the service for them and Aaron, , my spouse, is continuing with his job in the trauma center.
I had a hasty departure and the posting proposed for today, In Memory of: E. Lynn Harris, will publish this upcoming Friday, July 22, 2022. With all the packing and last-minute tasks, I didn’t have the necessary time to sort through my notes for today’s post entry. I apologize for being caught totally unprepared.
Loading my car!
Since Michael and Ropati departed, I’ve had three trips on the expressway between Arlington and Norfolk, Virginia. As of my last inventory, I think I have all the material that I need in order to complete my post entry for Friday. Again, I regret any inconvenience this situation has created.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry for here is planned for Friday, July 22, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “In Memory of: E. Lynn Harris!”
The date was Wednesday, March 16, of this year. At university, a colleague brought in a newspaper from where I lived with my, the city of Richmond, Virginia. He entered my office without knocking and opened the paper and laid it across my desk. I turned from my computer screen and glanced at where he pointed with his finger. A memorial obituary for an acquaintance of mine – Rodney Lofton. He had died from complications with lung cancer on Monday, March 14, in Phoenix, Arizona.
He was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in November, 2021. He was pronounced with HIV in 1993. A Richmond, Virginia, native, he returned to the city of his birth after living in New York City for several years. It was while living in New York City that he learned of his HIV status. He immediately became active in HIV+ awareness, education and services not only in Richmond but in Washington, D.C., as well.
Rodney worked to revive and then became a member of the City of Richmond Human Rights Commission. He served two terms in that position.
Rodney served on various boards and commissions nationally and throughout the states. His service in the City of Richmond, Virginia, and for the Commonwealth of Virginia (the focus here for this post), was both beneficial and profound. He was the very first African-American to serve as a senior staff person at the community GLBTQ+ advocacy group, Diversity Richmond. In this capacity he was vice-president and then deputy director. He was instrumental in opening doors previously closed to persons of colour in the former capital city of the old Confederate States.
In his time, he created the Black and Bold Awards to honour the contributions that Black GLBTQ+ persons made to the City of Richmond and to the Commonwealth of Virginia. Later, he created a similar award programme for the Latino community.
Rodney Lofton posing beside his portrait at Diversity Richmond!
In 2015, Rodney was the recipient of the OUTStanding Virginia award presented by Equality Virginia to a person who dutifully positively represented the community in the public eye.
Among his numerous volunteer efforts, he also actively participated in the Red Cross HIV/AIDS prevention education programmes. I will deliver more on this topic in the second part of today’s post here.
Rodney Lofton was the author of two books. The first book entitled The Day I Stopped Being Pretty: A Memoir was published on October 16, 2007. This memoir chronicles his life journey from childhood to adulthood in honest and riveting detail. He relates his bad times, good times and all the moments in between. He bares his soul and affords us the perspective of a gay Black male recognizing his uniqueness in the unfolding world of the “New South.”
Rodney Lofton’s first book.
His second novel was published two years later on June 30, 2009. His second book entitled No More Tomorrows: Two Lives, Two Stories, One Love. Lofton’s second book is a novel relaying the bromance and drama of two contemporary same gender loving men and their relationship. Both titles were nominated the year of publication for a Lambda Literary Award.
Rodney Lofton’s second book!
The current City of Richmond City Council unanimously passed a Statement of Tribute in early March, 2022. It was signed by Mayor Stoney and delivered to Rodney in Phoenix, Arizona, shortly before he died. In the statement, City Council noted: “Rodney served for many years as a local and national GLBTQ+ leader and compassionate voice.”
Rodney Lamont Lofton is survived by his husband, Faron Niles.
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A Personal Thought on Rodney Lofton:
As teenagers, my identical twin brother, Alex, and myself – once we understood our same gender attraction – would frequently visit the riverside park in our city, especially the “gay beach” area where we could “hang out” with our own kind. Twin and I liked the fact that we could be clothes free here while on summer vacation from our residential Deaf school. This was where we met Rodney. He and Twin became friends while Rodney and I remained acquaintances – we’d pass notes while together but that was the limit of our relationship.
Fast forward to the middle 1990’s. Due to the HIV/AIDS crisis, I became a very active volunteer in prevention education with my local chapter of the Red Cross. I worked primarily with teenagers and young adults in outreach efforts to raise knowledge and understanding among their peers. As a Deaf instructor-trainer in the Red Cross HIV/AIDS curriculum, I was frequently sought by the national organization and the various local chapters for advice and service.
I served as a co-chairman on the programme to create, develop and implement a focused curriculum for teens in HIV prevention strategies and techniques. This two-year project culminated with a four-day training conference involving 150 teenage training candidates and the project developers/educators. The name determined for the project was Teen Voice. This provided me the opportunity to renew my acquaintance with Rodney Lofton.
For the duration of the educational sessions, Rodney and I were room-mates at the facility used for the training. At nights after our sessions, we passed notes while naked in our shared room and smoking our cigarettes, expelling the smoke through our open window. Because of our note exchange, we kept the room lights on. At the reception at the end of our programme, one of our co-instructors commented privately that he enjoyed watching the two of us smoking nude in our room at night! We both shared laughter at our “exposure” at the Red Cross Teen Voice conference!
Over the nights and notes, we developed a casual friendship and an understanding of our roles within the Red Cross HIV/AIDS project. We also recalled days at the riverside park in Richmond hanging out nude and skinny-dipping in the river.
The Memorial Service
Memorial Service announcement!
I attended the above memorial service for Rodney. Twin wanted to attend but had a professional commitment that he needed to participate. There was no interpreter present so all I could do was observe the mourners present. It did me good to be there and offer my sentiments internally.
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A shared past and our shared nudity!
Rest in peace, Rodney Lofton!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next planned post entry here is for Monday, April 18, 2022, and the proposed topic is: “April Appeal: Nakations!”
Naked hugs! Yesterday, January 3, 2019, was a very special day for my friend, Jay, and myself. It was the tenth anniversary of the day that we met and for the both of us it seems as though we were the best of friends from the first moment that we met. For those reading here, I’ve written several posts on the circumstances surrounding our first meeting and its aftermath that were posted here last year. In case you missed those posts, I’m offering those links below.
November, 2018, was most definitely not the month I expected it to be. As those of you who read ReNude Pride regularly already know, my father died on November 11. This event happened unexpectedly following his diagnosis of stage 4 cancer of the colon, liver and one kidney on October 28. Mercifully, it wasn’t a protracted end but was swift and relatively pain-free. Which does beg the question: “How the hell do the doctors or any of us really know how painless any death truly is?”
ReNude Pride 