In 1962, I was on the swim team in my high school. I was a senior, and I was a very good swimmer. Swimming in gym class was nude for boys, and so was swim team practice. It was a little odd to be nude during swim meets when mothers, sisters, and friends (all adults, of course) filled the bleachers above the pool, but it wasn’t crazy like it would be today.
Swimmers who were a little overweight (there weren’t many) may have been a bit embarrassed, but students like me weren’t embarrassed at all. I had a slim build, but I had some muscle in my arms and legs, and I was proud of how I looked. I was often complimented on my looks, so I felt confident. When I was competing in a swim meet, I was mostly concerned about my speed. If I didn’t win, I at least wanted to be close to winning.
Before the first swim meet, our coach gave us some rules regarding our behavior:
1) Say hello to our families in the bleachers after the meet. The reason this was important is that spectators paid fifty cents to get in, and this was money that we needed. If we made our “customers” feel welcome and happy, they would come back.
2) Avoid making our friends and family feel awkward about our nudity. He told us that we shouldn’t cover our private parts with our hands, because that would tell our families that we felt embarrassed and make them uncomfortable. We should instead just act like we don’t care, and he told us that we shouldn’t care because we were handsome young men.
3) If we started to get an erection, we should recite the pledge of allegiance to ourselves, and our erection would disappear. “It works every time,” he said.
4) Don’t react when spectators are rude. After the meet, spectators may give you a slap in the behind, or get a little bit too “touchy”. “In the past,” he said, “we’ve even had people grab boys’ penises. If that happens, don’t over-react. Don’t get angry, don’t yell, just smile at them. They are our customers.”
By the end of my junior year, I did have a few people slap my butt while I was walking by spectators. I just followed the coach’s instructions and gave those people a quick smile, which seemed to work.
One time during the end of my sophomore year, I was making my way through the stands after visiting my auntie, and an older gentleman asked me if I was part elephant. He said, “That thing swings back and forth like an elephant trunk. You must be part elephant.” Then, he gave my penis a little “swing” to one side, pushing it with his fingers, causing it to swing back and forth. I just smiled at him.
One day, after a swim meet, I was about to head into the locker room because I didn’t see any of my friends or family in the bleachers. I double checked the bleachers to make sure, and then I saw a mother and her daughter waving at me. Looking closer, I could see that it was Elenor Carlson, a lady from my church. She motioned with her hand for me to go and talk to her.
I quickly jumped up the steps, and Mrs. Carlson, an old family friend, smiled said hello to me. She stood up and put her arms up, signaling that she wanted a hug, and she said, “I don’t care if you’re wet, I need to give you a hug.” I gave her a hug, and then she proceeded to update me on everything that’s going on in church.
I didn’t feel at all embarrassed about being nude as she was talking. I didn’t even think about it, but I was careful to follow the coach's instructions to not cover my privates with my hands. There was a railing right there, so I leaned against it, and held it with my hands as she talked.
“Do you know about Mr. Nelson?” she asked. “He was feeling sick the other day, and he ended up going to the doctor. Well, it turns out that he has a hernia.” She talked on and on.
While she was talking, her daughter, Maryann, walked over and stood right next to me. Maryann was a cute, country-looking girl with auburn hair, a little younger than I. I remember her wearing a green dress with a simple white blouse.. I tried not to look at her, because I needed to be respectful and look at the person who was talking to me, but it seemed like Maryann was up to something.
While I was standing there listening, I felt Maryann’s cold fingers slowly moving down the side of my body, then back up, then down again and up again. It tickled a bit, but I ignored it, trying to be polite to Mrs. Carlson. “You look like Tarzan,” I heard Maryann say, softly. I just ignored her and tried my best to engage in conversation with her mother.
Mrs. Carlson kept talking on and on, and I couldn’t even get a word in edge-wise. All I could do was say things like “Oh, really?” “That’s too bad” “That’s good” etc. All the while, Maryann was touching me. It didn’t seem to bother Mrs. Carlson. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if she even noticed.