DRAFT - Page five & six

It was time to rush to the next party so we boarded the shuttle bus once more to the bars instead of taking the train - our press passes allowed us to do this. The busses were fantastic. Brand new tour busses - the same chassis that is used to build those wonderful condo’s on wheels that you see on the intestates - the 106 inch wide body diesel ‘pusher’s that cost upwards to half a mil - more if you’re a country singer. I sat up front and talked to the driver about s-speed automatic transmissions and stuff. We walked from the bar stop home to change gear for the evening. Kelly was already there and ready. He lead us on a walking tour from the South to North side of Lakeview, which is the Gay area of Chicago, to Jack Rinella’s place where he was hosting the local M.A.s.T. party. I kept tripping Kelly by getting in the way of his cane. Pretty soon I learned to fall back and allow him to do as he does when he’s alone - rodt said I was over-protective. I was. It was more than a mile and he knew exactly where to go. Amazing to me. And we stopped along the way to chat with friends of his who were passing by.

We were familiar with Jack’s place having stayed there last year. It’s a two level loft on the third floor of a very nice building with a roof terrace that looks out on the Lake towards the Loop. He’s got a great garden and the bar-b-q was going strong. I sat on the couch downstairs and visited with Elaine from San Diego. She and I are the volunteers who have helped staff the People of Color panels at the last three LeatherFests there.

The slaves were so attentive - almost begging us to accept all the good food they were preparing and serving. Masters were sharing and comparing. I jokingly said to Master Steve that I wanted to take an option on his boy joe. He’s a very cute and young Latino whom we’d met when we were last at Butchmann’s. rodtney thinks so too. They get along great. We’re monogamous but rodtney would just love to have some domestic help so he can spend more time on the computer and with his healing work. So Master Steve says, $700,000. Woah! The prices have inflated. Last I heard the average quote had risen from 10 to 25 thousand, delivered, with a re-training guarantee. Hummmmmmm. Still, I guess if some of us had that kind of money we would consider the offer. It’s all relative isn’t it. Don’t cringe. Remember everything in Leather society is ‘Safe, Sane and Consensual’ - and as we say, Consensual slavery is not the same as conscripted slavery.

We were watching the clock because we didn’t want to miss the big dance we’d been waiting for. The Black Leather club in Chicago, ONYX, was hosting a dance in the hotel tonight and we wanted to participate for sure. So we walked up to the ‘L’ and headed downtown - this time on the subway because it’s faster. No problem being in full leather on public transportation in Chicago. Everyone’s learned to be very tolerant - including those who live in the outlying areas. Very comfortable actually.

I guess it was the day before that we were waiting on the platform downtown with Kelly to come home when a guy walked up to us with a small recorder and stuck it into Kelly’s face and said, "What’s My Fetish?" It was so funny. His companion was a stringy haired Jewish vampire crazy; and they turned out to be reporters for a local radical paper whom Kelly knew from their by-lines. When he stuck the mic in my face I replied, "Your fetish is recording people." (LOL)

We all got on the train together and the woman jumped into our laps, held out a tiny camera and took all our pictures together. You should have seen the other riders on the train watching us carry on. They were peeking out from their newspapers and around the seats to watch. These two kept engaging more and more kinky people and Kelly crossed the isle to sit with them for a picture also. We almost missed our stop - but Kelly reminded us. The reporters got off and caught another train back downtown. Just a hoot! This is so much more fun than taking the structured tours.

- m o r e - IML-20 - Spring 98 Draft: Page Six of Eight

We walk the last couple of blocks through the city to the hotel. The architecture of Chicago is famous of course, and most of the time we are looking up and around rather than where we are going. The dance is in full swing when we arrive. Oh, this is cute too: We had pulled long shirts over our leather to travel because rodtney had on chaps and a leather jock with no ass strap... a little much for the laws of Illinois. So we had to first go into the hotel lobby men’s room and both go into a stall for me to insert his horse-hair-tail butt-plug. This is his public trade mark at big events. Don’t faint please - it works! He wears no shirt and a body harness. I’m in my Leather overalls. All perfect for some serious dancing.

We’re greeted by the men of ONYX in the Florentine Room, and we dance non-stop until two in the morning. It was as good as it gets. Everyone was talking about the dance the next day. It was a first at IML. Right after we went across the hall on the second floor to get a drink and as we glance out the windows we see a fantastic lightening storm out over the lake. It’s been raining... ...welcome to the mid-west. So we hang out in the hotel lobby for awhile to watch the cruising and then we adjust our gear and board the shuttle for home. Man ‘o man, what a Saturday. Some of our friends get about four hours sleep in five days when they do this event. We can see why. Even so we missed the jock strap competition. That was a choice we had to make. I had my own private 'thunder buns'.

The next morning, Sunday, I let boi sleep while I did car things with Kelly’s roommate, Jim. Jim teaches technical writing at a Chicago vocational college. He’s also an art collector specializing in Dudly’s. Dudly was the founder of the environmental movement up in the Indiana Dunes about 50 miles to the northeast of the city. So I get a crash course in art education before we go out to analyze his 4 X 4 truck. He wants to buy a Jeep so I advise him since I’m a former Jeep Service and Customer Relations and Fleet Manager. We go for a test drive and visit the local auto parts store. It’s a man thing and we’re bonding.

I also made an apple pie from scratch using honey instead of sugar. Jim says we’re 'easy' and ‘value-added’ guests. That’s a neat assessment. I think I’s like ri write a primer on how to be a ‘value-added’ guest. Our host's home was built in 1883. It’s worth about 330 thousand dollars today as the area gentrifies just like the Castro in San Francisco. When they opened the house up, removing the ceilings and so on, they actually found a left-over lunch from one of the carpenters wrapped in a 1893 newspaper. Jim says he actually took a bite of the sandwich... say what! That’s right - that’s what he said.

About noon we begin to dress for the big event - the 20th annual IML contest. The top 20 of the 62 contestants will be appearing at the historical Congress Theater with more than 3,000 in attendance. We’re ready. Dress leather this time - with our LeatherWeb T-shirts and such.. After all, we’ll be taking pictures down in front won’t we. We’re taking the city bus this time. Once again, no problem. The Latino families our for church and Sunday shopping are very curious. We meet a brother on the route who’s in charge of the HIV minority education for Chicago. Nothing’s by accident, Ever. We believe this.

I manage to lose a contact lens before the festivities start. No matter. The show must go on. I’m using our 35mm camera and boi has the Sony Mavica. All goes well. boi has actually predicted the winner at the first night introductions so he now has before and after pictures. That’s the sign of a fine reporter.