Empower Yourself, Get Naked!

I rode my bike to farmer's market today.

That in itself is not so atypical.

I went for a loaf of stella's...and to see some nudity.

(yep, right there's the weird part)

today was the naked bike ride.

and like any good creeper, i couldn't ignore it.

i thought it would go around the square at 11, but i realized i was mistaken and that the parade would start at 11, but no one knew when it would get to the square.

so i waited, and waited. and felt like a perv as i was waiting to leer.

i mean, how long does a person wait to see some, probably, ugly naked people on bikes?

right as i was about to leave (and wash my shame off of me) i saw them in the distance.

Leading the way was a police officer, who clearly wanted everyone to know that he was not affiliated with the group. he kept shouting, "so far, we haven't received any complaints. please let me know if you would like to make a complaint!"

and we all shouted, "woooo!! no complaints! woooo!!!"

i stood there in awe of these people. snapping little pictures on my camera.

and then, realized how very close i was standing to the curb. in my expert opinion, far too close.

there was not enough space between me and their genitalia.

so i took a giant step back, where i could appreciate them, but wasn't immersed in it.

they were shouting, "empower yourself, get naked!" and "zero emissions per journey!"

not everyone was fully naked.

not everyone was attractive. (most weren't, actually)

not everyone had much to be proud of.

but i was in awe of their ability to participate.

on the one hand, i felt empowered by the naked bike ride, on the other it smelled like sweaty naked people.

as i biked home, i thought about their parade. i envied them, and wished i had the courage to do it. i doubt my parents would disown me, we always had the philosophy that "skin is better than violence" -which is reason #174 why i really can't live in The South, but i digress.

i mean really, if i were to die today, the best my tombstone could read is "law abiding citizen"... i mean, beloved law abiding citizen, but still. maybe it's time i live life to the fullest.

I suddenly wanted to throw of my shirt and join them.

In the front though, ahead of the smelly naked-exhaust.

i would have just worn a bra and shorts, but that still would have been a huge step forward for me.

but by the time i finally mustered up the courage, i was already home so i just decided instead to sit in my lovely air conditioned living room and type this blog post.

topless, of course.