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The guys at the Backdoor booth took the photo at the right (They took a second one, which is on the Gallery I Page). Yeah, I was this naked for about 3/4 of the fair time.
The day was sunny and hot. Perfect. There were lots of hot and goodlooking men. Some naked. Many showing a lot of skin. The serious photographers were out.
There was a general good spirit about, and a lot of good cruising. The limited area of the fair makes it all the better for the cruise. In sum, it felt kinda cluby, like a group of guys who know and like each other, and are at ease. The best.
Dancing to DJ on the street worked for those who wanted to do the gross muscle manipulation thing.
Someone ought to do a clothes check at one of the booths. Maybe it doesn't have to be advertised. Word of mouth will get it out as available service. Simple service: put your clothes in a paper bag, staple it shut, and you get a check token for a fee.
I sensed a touch of disorganization in the crowd. More straight couples, and tourist types than I remember in previous years. There were clogs of very slow moving people. Not the fullest variety of Leather and Fetish that I've seen in previous years. But to say the crowd was different was not a bad thing or a disappointment. There were all the standard features: A goodly variety of men. Some magnificent tat work. Lots of music, food, cameras. I saw lots of lens ends. A full 1/3 of the cameras I saw were digital. Many Sonys. Very few Kodaks.
I wore my chainmail harness, 13 sanded rings on my balls, heavy chrome ring and circ barbell behind my dickhead, a black cap and Paratrooper zip boots. That was it. So I was quite naked. My intention. Pix are in the pipeline, but I have none yet. I'll post as soon as I get.
My visiting gay cousin from NYC disappeared as quick as I got naked. Not to be seen again for the duration. Ovo, visiting from Berlin was in pink and green drag, as he promised. I chatted with a lot of strangers, had lots of requests from women to pose with me for pix taken by their male or female companions. Curious.
After, I went to the Hole.
Castro Street Fair 1997Not the display parade that Folsom Fair is, And rather vanilla by comparason. So not so many cameras walking around.
But it is my neighborhood. I like pushing the envelope. I wore black cap, zipup Paratrooper boots, and thin white cotton stretchy shorts. Bicycle type mid calf. No shirt. I had a chrome donut on my balls, and a heavy chrome ring and circ. barbell right behind my cockhead (normal). Then I took 4 water pistols, and stuck the nozzle ends under the wastband. 2 pointing at my cock, and 1 on each buttcheek. I filled them with water. Every water pistol ever made leaks. These soaked my shorts, making that thin white cotton fabric transparent. So I was showing all. I did have to fill my water bottle and water guns about once an hour.
There were lots of people. The crowd was well accommodated by the layout, the baracades, the plan. The planners got it right. None of the unmoving clogs that were present at the Folsom St. Fair. Police coverage was heavyish. They served well. There were no incidents that needed intervention that I saw in the 5.5 hours that I walked around in the warm sun. I didn't pay much attention to the vendors, except for Two: One was the mask stand from New Orleans. Some wonderful masks. And high prices. Beyond my budget, but not overpriced. The other was a very modest stand run by a guy from Peru. He made string bracelets right there, from scratch, with custom lettering. Above is the one he made for me. Some spanish speaking guys were hanging out there, joking about sex, and cock sizes. One asked the others: "Am I fat?" Another guy answered: "You are fat in your cock."
The pix at left was taken by a guy who emailed the photo he did on his Sony digital camera. I greatly appreciate that he sent me the file. He didn't catch my wet shorts in the photo, but two of the squirt guns are partly visible.
As the fair was winding down, I went to the Edge, had a beer, and hung my cock out to dry in the crowded bar. On the walk home, I was pleased to see some sidewalk chalk art done for the Fair by neighbors. Excellent day.
The scale of this neighborhood, and its streets make it perfect for walking, cruising. There are not a great number of pause places, so everyone is in transit. Weather permiting, I wear something revealing enough so that its clear that I intend to show it. And tats. Loose jeans are well integrated into gay streetwear these days. I'm glad to see some others now also getting the hang of using them to their good showoff potential.
Well, the cruise is always good, even when its not busy. Resay: better when its not busy. I like late nights here. I like to take my truck over, park, and play. The cheap, fuzzy fake white wool seatcovers in my truck are good on bare skin. Chat out potential well. There is a lot of variety here.
A nice streetside cruise & meeting place. I've met a number of interesting guys here, and chatted with guys who I've cruised at other places. I like hanging out against the wall toward Castro from the tables and chairs Pasqua provides on the sidewalk. There is enough walk and driveby traffic to make it worthwhile anytime between Noon and 5 pm. If I were the manager, I'd approach the apt. building mgmt. for the building next door (the one I lean on), and offer to rent sidewalk space to put up more tables. And I'd do one more thing: I'd have coffee stirs made to the shape of my sketch at right, above.
Mercurial moments, late nights, say as the bars are closing. Short lived. Otherwise, its a crapshoot. When the sun is up, its a different place, a lot less sexy. Not a neighborhood yet, because of the lack of some services, like an all night grocery store. But once in a while, there are some wonderful things that happen. Like the boys who walked from the Powerhouse to the Hole in underwear recently. Or a chance encounter with someone who you've been cruising across a bar crowd. Quick action wins it here. If you don't have your dick out or get his out within, say 2 minutes of a "Hey", it is unlikely to happen. Move on. Sunrise is too near. Plain and simple is the style of choice. You should ride a bicycle or an old nail (old nail is a Biker term for a motorcycle that is over 10 years old and well worn, but still running). Hole Street Poem.
One cop has been clearing this street lately. Sometimes after the bars close, sometimes before. He is a big young black cop. Above 6', and about 240+ lbs. He has used various excuses, from noise complaints by unspecified residents, to public sex acts. Instead of ticketing any violations of law (which would require some work from him), he is clearing the entire street of all people with his order and physical presence. This is inappropriate police work. I'm amazed by the capitulation of those on the street. His presence on the street is fine. His efforts to clear it are illegal and not a welcome interface.
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