Sauna Berlin quickly became my usual hangout to relax. I loved the feeling of being naked with a mixed group of men and women. It was so liberating. So free. So unlike my home town and culture. It was new and invigorating. I met Gretchen there many times. Every now and then she would still have to give me a hand in the changing cubicle to get things under control. Sometimes I would have to take care of it myself if she wa...

Growing up in a small, conservative farm town had a its benefits. But experiencing different cultures, seeing the world, and really expanding my personal boundaries are not some of those things. By the time I was 28 years old, I had finished college, had a master’s degree, and was back teaching math in my old high school. And I was bored! In spite of having been the “popular jock” back in my high school days, as well as b...

Around 2002, when I was thirty-five, I traveled on business to São Paulo, Brazil, and stayed at the old Hilton Hotel. It has since been replaced by a new Hilton, which just isn’t the same! I checked in after a long flight from the US. Every bone in my body ached from the flight, and I was ready to relax. The front desk clerk recommended that I visit the spa on the top floor of the hotel. It sounded exactly like what I nee...