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My two best friends in Southern California have been married for over 45 years — but the circumstances surrounding how they first met in a nudist park are quite bizzare, to say the least.

In order to explain how this unusual event took place, a little background on my friends is in order.

Beverly was married to a commercial fisherman who, sadly, died just before turning 50 and who left Bev with a young son. A few months prior his dad's passing, young Larry Junior found an abandoned refrigerator in a vacant lot and got locked inside of it.

When Bev discovered he was missing she almost immediately spotted the refrigerator and ran to open it. Happily, Larry suffered no physical damage, but the trauma caused severe emotional problems, making him afraid to get more than a few yards away from his mother.

So Beverly, in desperation, took Larry to a psychiatrist — and was quite surprised by what he suggested. He said that Bev should get Larry out into some open space — preferably somewhere other than their own neighborhood — and spend a lot of time with him outdoors. He felt sure that Larry would gradually overcome his fears and be able to return to the life of a normal, healthy 5-year-old.

A Doctor's Strange Prescription

In fact, suggested the psychiatrist, spending a couple of weeks in a nudist park might just speed up the recovery.

"Nudist park? You've got to be kidding!" was Bev's initial reaction. Well, the doc was serious and Beverly has always been one to do whatever needs to be done in a crisis. She found a camp in San Diego County and took young Larry there that weekend.

Well, Larry Jr. had no particular problem with being naked, and the fact that there was nobody there who knew her made it a little easier for Bev to take the big step.

Well, to make a long story short, Larry Jr. did overcome his phobias and had become so comfortable at the nudist park that he didn't want to leave. So guess what happened — Beverly and her husband ended up buying the place. Larry Senior's health had been declining to where he had to give up commercial fishing — and he wanted to buy a business that required less physical exertion. As it happened, the park's owners were in their 70s and wanted to sell the place and retire.

Sadly, however, not long afterwards, Larry Sr. passed away, leaving Beverly as the owner and manager of a nudist park, which she really had no interest in operating on her own.

Well, a couple of the park's "weekend nudists" were friends of Bob, who had recently been divorced. "Hey, Bob," they said, "how would you like to meet a really cute widow we know?"

When Bob was invited to visit the park with his nudist friends (whom, by the way, he did not know were nudists until they told him about the cute widow they had met) Bob was definitely not interested.

Going to a nudist park had no more appeal for Bob than it had had for Beverly. He was also preoccupied with an acrimonious divorce he had been going through (which is a whole other story).

Anyway, Bob's friends kept insisting he was missing out by not accepting their invitation — so he finally broke down and agreed to go with them.

Well, Bob has always been a good-looking, well-built guy who would have nothing to be ashamed of upon being seen naked — but he quickly got into the swimming pool, where he felt less conspicuous. His friends joined him and tried to make him feel more at ease, as they pointed out various of their friends who were in and around the pool.

Still, seeing a bunch of naked women like this — including the wife of the couple with whom he came — was rather unsettling, so Bob decided he would just stay waist-deep in the pool. Beverly had been in the park manager's office all this time.

When she finally came out to the pool area, Bob's friends said, "Well, there she is. Whadda ya think?"

Well, Bev has always had a very well-endowed figure, and I can only imagine what she looked like back in the 1960s when all this took place. In any case, Bob tells me he was very favorably impressed — and that evidence of his being impressed quickly began to rise below the surface of the water.

When his friends said, "Come on, Bob — we'll introduce you," he didn't know what to do. So he told them that he'd rather stay in the pool for a while — and be introduced later.

I'm not sure how long Bob stayed in the pool — but he makes it sound like most of the afternoon — and for quite a while after Bev had gone back into her office.

Well, when Bob finally gained control over his testosterone, he and Bev were introduced and eventually decided they liked each other well enough to start dating.

However, Bev's time constraints in running the nudist park made it difficult for her to be available for "regular dating" — but since she and Bob were already mature parents, they mostly hung out together around the park — and wore clothes when nobody was looking.

Well, they finally got married, Bev sold the park, and they opened a consumer electronics shop in Carlsbad, California. This is where my wife and I met them — and how a goofy mistake ended up making us Saturday night dinner companions for the following several decades.

Beverly is a very talented painter, by the way.

Click on any of the thumbnails below to see a larger view of the painting.














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