Too Much Decadence

I have to confess this Road Trip has been probably more than I can handle. Starting back in early June, I have been sleeping in hotels and motels every night, save 6 nights spent with friends, and I’m ready to go home. And I’m almost there. As I type this I’m sitting in a Starbucks in Ansley Square Mall in Atlanta. Atlanta? Yep, I know it wasn’t on the itinerary but things changed.

I’m heading next to check out the adult bookstore scene in Columbus, Georgia (very near Fort Benning, training center for airborne troops) and then a week in Pensacola where I hope to photograph lots of military men, surfers and skateboarders.

I left Oklahoma City shortly before Labor Day Weekend right after my friend Fran arrived to set up his traveling gloryhole at the Habana (see the pictures below of the assembly of the hole). Fran will be at the Habana for several weeks, sucking cock and recording it for his website, franandleo.com. Fran is one of many great friends I’ve met through cruisingforsex.com. We’ve visited many times in his hometown, Philadelphia, and now he’ll be doing his own long road trip.

For Labor Day I was in New Orleans, my first exposure to the annual ‘Southern Decadence’ weekend –- and probably my last. I detest the combination of heat and humidity and the weekend of Decadence broke all previous records for heat in New Orleans during a September. But even if the weather had blessed us with cool temperatures, I suspect my opinion of Decadence wouldn’t have been different.

If your idea of fun is watching adults get drunk just so they can lower their inhibitions and enjoy what should be natural for any human to desire, then you’ll love it. I found it rather depressing and while my boyfriend was quick to point out that Mardi Gras is essentially the same, I would have to disagree. Mardi Gras is a citywide party grounded in religious and civic tradition. The sex is merely a part of the party, a very fun part, but no more important than the parades and bead throwing, private parties and balls. You’ll never see a city more consumed by any single event as New Orleans is by Mardi Gras. Southern Decadence involves only a few tens of thousands -- almost entirely all gay males – while Mardi Gras approaches and often exceeds a million persons of all types. Average age at Decadence this year was 45, and for the most part men seemed to fall in two main groups: either the seriously developed bodybuilder or, more frequently, the guy who would probably look better with a shirt on (though who could blame them in that heat!).

I’ll be the first to admit that walking down Burgundy Street and watching two people having oral sex on the sidewalk is liberating in its own way, but it saddens me that many involved seem to need an endless supply of booze to enjoy sex. Americans need the release of a Mardi Gras and, no doubt, a Southern Decadence, as we live in such a repressed, conformist society, but while I find Mardi Gras ultimately meaningful and enriching, Southern Decadence is nothing but, well, decadence.

I’m sure many casual observers of cruisingforsex.com assume I must wallow in decadence, but not if it means wallowing in human indignity and degradation. It is entirely possible to be a part of a fuck train at an orgy or participate in a fisting scene and all the while be entirely ethical and respectful of yourself and others. As long as you are aware of the importance of those humans you are connecting with as fellow humans -– even if you never learn their name – it can be a very enriching experience. Believe me when I say I’ve wallowed enough to know. But a wallow at Decadence is probably not in the cards for this cruiser.

[Cruisemaster note: These journal entries are normally placed online weekends. I make no promises, however, about getting them posted regularly. This is a real road trip and sometimes my 'field research' gets in the way of writing down what I discover along the road.]

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Cruisemaster
cruisingforsex.com