BARE AND FREE

May - Ultraviolet Awareness Month

With the hot summer months quickly approaching, May is a good time to become reacquainted with the dangers of sun exposure. Be sure to protect both your eyes and skin from the sun.

Each year, about one million people in the United States learn that they have skin cancer or eye damage. Most of these cases are caused by excessive exposure to the sun's ultraviolet (UV) radiation. These dangerous rays also can come from artificial sources, such as tanning booths and sunlamps.

Early detection and treatment are the best defenses against sun-damaged skin, according to dermatologists, who recommend a monthly self check of skin to identify any changes in size, shape, texture, or color of existing moles, blemishes, or birthmarks. Also be wary of a sore that does not heal.

Dermatologists say the best time for a skin check is after a shower or bath. Check yourself in a well-lighted room using a full-length mirror and a handheld mirror.

The American Cancer Society suggests checking all areas of the body, with particular emphasis on those not as easily seen or noticed, including the back, scalp, between the buttocks, genital area, soles of feet/between toes, and backs of legs.

Protect Your Eyes

Exposure to UV rays can burn delicate eye tissue and raise the risk of developing cataracts and cancers of the eye. Protect your eyes from UV dangers by choosing the right sunglasses.

While warnings about the sun's damaging UV rays are frequent, a recent survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that fewer than half of all adults adequately protect themselves from the sun.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and American Cancer Society offer these action steps to protect yourself and your family from harmful UV rays:

People at highest risk for developing skin cancer include those who live in southern areas of the United States, where UV exposure is greatest, and those with fair skin, red or blond hair, and blue or light-colored eyes, according to experts.

Most skin cancers appear after age 50 but are an accumulation of a lifetime of exposure to harmful UV radiation-one of the reasons why prevention in children and younger people is crucial.

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Summer Hours Resume

We will be open on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30. And as usual, the lake will be available on Friday afternoons during June, July, and August. Be sure to sign in on arrival, and pleasantly remind anyone who forgets. Because the Fourth of July comes on a Monday this year, we will be open then too.

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Renewals High Despite Cold Spring

The weather service declared it the coldest, wettest April on record. Our lake has overflowed into the pond several times. The water is warming up about a month behind schedule. Yet attendance is still running higher than the last two years, and people are renewing their memberships faster than ever. (If you are one of the handful who have not yet renewed, this is your last newsletter notification.)

People who renewed got a pleasant surprise in the mail: the new gate combination, a new membership card, and some business cards to hand to prospective members. If you didn't get enough business cards, or you run out anytime, help yourself to more in the green file cabinet in the building. Thanks go to Al for designing and printing the cards--as well as a wonderful color version of our new brochure.

With rainy weather, we have to remind everyone again to not drive on the shoulders of our path. The roadbed is solid gravel, with temporary puddles only an inch or so deep. When you cut up the soft shoulders, every inch of your mess has to be raked out by hand before we can mow the grass. (By the way, our Grounds Committee can always use more volunteers.) Deep tracks in the shoulder also block off the natural drainage.

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We Visit Nearby Clubs

Three members visited Sunny Oaks Haven near Live Oak on April 16. The day was unusually cool, though it did warm up by mid-afternoon. Some people may have also been put off by a last-minute announcement of plans for noisy entertainment--which did not happen. We enjoyed conversation with our neighbors, and a fine picnic--thanks partially to all the food Cliff brought.

When we visited there two years ago, we were impressed with all the new landscaping and development. Unfortunately, nothing has changed since then.

A few weeks earlier, Paul stopped by Hidden River Resort near Macclenny, and had a pleasant chat with the owner. The place was empty on a weekday, but they are installing heavy-duty cooking equipment to handle large crowds. At least three of our young members planned to attend the Nudie Blues Festival there at the end of April.

In years past, we used to travel in the opposite direction, and visit the Bay Bares near Panama City each winter. But their hot tub has not been working the last few years, and they have met irregularly during the winter months. We want to visit them again next year.

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Youth Camp Nudity Banned from Texas

By administrative decree, out-of-sight bureaucrats have amended the Texas Administrative Code under "General Sanitation" to add that "A youth camp may not allow campers or staff to be nude, except when bathing, showering, changing clothing or receiving medical care." Does bathing include skinny-dips? The bureaucrats are apparently not required to explain what any of this has to do with the general sanitation of Texas.

It was a secretive end-run around a proposal in the legislature that the Naturist Action Committee has kept bottled up in committee. NAC is trying to claim victory, in that the proposal never reached the floor of the legislature. But the truth is that we lost badly. Now the regulation is in place--by people who can't be voted out of office.

Paul started the JFANR camp back in 1993. A few years ago, AANR leaders set a goal of spreading the camp idea to a different region each year. The Eastern and Western regions established camps, and Texas ran a preliminary weekend trial camp in 2002. But a story in The New York Times in 2003 caused some political backlash, and disrupted the schedule. Another trial camp ran in Texas in 2004, but leaders carefully limited it to one day, and called it a workshop.

Texas is the second state where bad law has resulted from that New York Times story. AANR and AANR-East leaders continue their court challenge to a Virginia law requiring nudist parents (but no other parents) to attend camp with their children.

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Announcements

The meeting place for our Full-Moon Skinny-Dips has moved. Because of construction, we will be meeting in the FSU library parking lot during the summer months. We will figure out something else by fall. If you are going directly to the lake, be sure to let Paul know at (850) 222-1886 or levalley@tfn.net. If turnout is small and we don't know you are there, we might not come to meet you.

Thanks to a generous donation from Al, we are able to give away our old AANR park guides to any member who wants one. See Paul. A supply of the new guides have been ordered. They normally cost $16.95 plus shipping. You can get one through us for $15.

Our web page is growing. The following type of information has been added.

• Scholarship information

• Family information

• The Nature Trail

• Bird sightings

• Bylaws

• Procedure Manual