5th Annual
Finnish Christmas Sauna Party
Review by Dan Kidwell (AKA "FreewalkerMA")
I would
like to state up front, that Jim Cunningham and Linda are fantastic hosts, as
well as being most interesting people. Their naturist gathering this past weekend
(December 17, 2011), at their home in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom, was
everything promised and more. They both went out of their way to make us all
feel at home.
I drove up
Saturday morning along with our son, Brendan. When we arrived there in Westfield,
about 1:30 pm, the wood fires had been stoked, both in the Carmel Cottage, and
in the freestanding sauna, up the hill. About two inches of snow had fallen the
previous night, so their place looked beautiful, in it's winter Vermont
setting. Jim was stretched out in his favorite chair, in the only manner that a
nudist may be truly comfortable, passively minding the fire, and chatting with
a couple of early guests, whose names slip me now. Linda and Deb were in the
kitchen, beginning to get things together for the pot luck spread. The cottage
was delightfully warm, and everyone was already suitably un-attired. I probably
would have made the drive in the nude, but it being only about 5 degrees
outside by the time that we passed through the Whites in NH, and our need to
stop at a market on the way up, resulted in neither I nor Brendan getting
around to losing our clothes till we arrived in the driveway. Once there, no
one had to twist our arms to encourage us to leave our clothes in the car.
After adopting the appropriate un-attire ourselves, a few trips back and forth
to the car to bring in our contributions to the pot luck dinner, and to the
alcohol provisions was invigorating, to say the least. Quite a change from the
50ish weather and bare ground that we left behind in Massachusetts. In time,
more guests arrived, some regulars from the Lake Willoughby group, and a friend
or two from town. The number of women reached four or five, by the time we
kicked back for dinner. The afternoon was spent in conversation getting to know
one and other and/or catching up on news of the day, naturist or otherwise. A
very friendly group, all around.
Around 3:30pm, it dawned on me that the
temperature outside was beginning to drop from it's single digit mid-day high
down to lesser single digits, and such a fine day should not be allowed to pass
without a freehike. So I got up and announced my intention. Deb and another of
the Willoughby regulars, Brad, enthusiastically decided to join me. Jim, while
being blessed by amazing progress working with his illnesses, is still in
recuperation, and thus was inclined to sit this one out. He kindly suggested a
logging road for us to follow. The others, our group amounting to twelve by
now, decided it wiser that they should remain behind to keep the home fires
burning. So the three of us set out in our birthday suits, accessorized by
simple foot and head gear. As luck would have it, there had been very little
wind the entire day, so we were blessed with near ideal winter freehiking conditions.
The trail took us up the hill, a vigorous climb in places, to the ridge behind
and to the south of their place. Partially wooded, and partially open, the
views out across the valley, and over to the next ridge to the east, were
astounding, golden in the late afternoon sun. We were tracking deer, turkey,
fox, and other smaller critters by their fine tracks, clearly revealed in the
crisp snow. A winter wonderland. The dry snow crunched under our feet in the
way that it does when it is this cold. The faint breeze, such as it was, was at
our backs on the way up, thus we didn't notice. All three of us were amazed at
how comfortable we were. We poked about in an un-occupied small scale logging
camp, consisting of nothing more then a beat up fifth wheel camper resting upon
big timbers, a small skidder, and a kid's play gym.
With the
sun beginning to set, we turned and headed back down. No sense in pushing our
luck in such conditions. We of course, noticed the breeze more on the way down,
this time into our faces, to which we quickened our step, ever so slightly. By
the time we arrived back, we found ourselves greeting the others with big
grins, and suffering nothing more serious then some slightly cold fingers and
other assorted red bits of anatomy. We quickly abandoned our hats and shoes at
the door, and rejoined the others by the wood stove. I am no stranger to hiking
in the nude for hours at a time, through our fine New England winters, however,
I have only dabbled for a minute or two at a time in the past when the
thermometer falls down around zero. We were out for the better part of a half
hour and logged at least a quarter of a mile. A personal first for all three of
us that day.
The dinner
was fabulous and well earned. All manner of steak tips, pork, lasagna,
casseroles, and a pot of chicken soup, with plenty of salad and sliced fruit on
the side. Complemented by wines, and micro-brews.
Then the
sauna. Brad and I had each made a couple of forays apiece, at decreasing
intervals, into the gathering darkness, in the nude of course, up the hill to
check the thermometer at the sauna. About 0 outside, and 200 inside, for the
last two checks, during the latter part of the meal. Jim pronounced that 200
was in "the zone", so he and a few of the guys headed up for the
first round. The sauna will hold six, but four or five seems optimal. When they
arrived back, all looking properly pinked, three of the women, me, and one of
the remaining guys went up for the next shift. Let me tell you, there is
nothing like a wood fired sauna, on a cold winter's night. I can think of
nothing else that will come close to curing all yo' ills, in quite the same
way. Three hot soaks, and two snow angels later, totally cleansed, and looking
at the coming winter, with a freshened soul, we marched back across the yard,
not feeling the now minus numbers, and mesmerized by the brilliant sky display
overhead. It now being well past 8pm, there was plenty of wine, beer, and
snacks, still to be indulged in, and many hours for chat. The other guests
gradually slipped away, bidding their farewells, leaving Jim, Linda, Brendan,
and me to explore many diverse topics, including naturism, as it was, is, and
may be, music, literature, homeschooling, politics, history, physics,
philosophy, theology, and a couple of half bottles of wine. 2am was upon us
before we knew it. There was an Advent Mass to be attended in the morning, at a
nearby Benedictine monastery, to which Jim and Linda had invited the two of us
to accompany them, and but a few hours to get some sleep. So they said good
night and made there way back to their house, across the driveway. Brendan and
I lost little time in making ourselves comfortable for the night.
Next
morning, the Mass, traditional Latin, accompanied by Gregorian chant, was very
special for me. As a faithful Catholic, one who respectfully questions those
things that are not right about the church, and with the world at large, this
was an experience not to be missed! My own set backs through life have taught
me to pray for insight, and move through faith and action to help where I may,
to make things right. Not remembering much Latin, and only able to follow parts
of the Mass by memory from the English version, to which I am much more
accustomed , I found myself with ample time to quiet my soul and fall into deep
prayer. One of those "aha" moments, a special gift we are granted
every so often.
As I have
come to know Jim and Linda over this weekend, I am in awe of what they have
accomplished for the betterment of the world, for themselves, and for their
family, with little but immense patience, an unquenchable faith in our Lord,
and a deep love for each other, to guide them. They are an inspiration.
Did I
mention that Brendan and I enjoyed the weekend, totally?
Jim and
Linda, an especially heart felt thank you too for everything that you both did
for both of us and for a most memorable weekend.
Red fox in garden
mid-December, 2011