Red Luminescence II

1992. I was 19 the first time I went to a strip club. Frankfurt Germany. The drive on the Autobahn
was one I'll never forget. 145mph in a VW Passat (and was still being passed!) There was
absolutely no room for error at that speed. I've gone even faster since then, but I digress.

We headed to Frankfurt for a day just to explore the German metropolis. It was far faster
and much different from the greener coutryside we were stationed in. Every place has its
extremes. Frankfurt was all hustle and bustle. It reminded me of NY as I remembered it as
a kid. It was just used up, not a spot stepped, spit, or pissed on. We had no mission, it was
just park and walk. We saw a pretty good bit of the city this day as it began to get dark.
We wanted to find a club of some sorts for the night.

We ended up in what was the 'district.' Marked by XXX theaters, bars, stripclubs
and the like. Most of the writing is in English, so it was easy to discern what was what. We
decided to hit up this stripclub that looked enticing for some reason. partly because I may
have been a little buzzed off of numerous Heinekens (their stronger in Europe) We had a
blast in the club. I was amazed at this 6ft, bronze-complected, curly black-haired Brazilian!
She was a thoroughbred for sure. Thick like Bisquick! Our drunk asses even got on stage
and danced with some of the girls. For that moment, I naively lived life under white lights,
like I was a star! It was a moment I'll never forget.

After the stripclub we headed out to our next adventure. Somebody mentioned the idea of
going up in a brothel to take a look. The one we decided upon was a tall narrow building.
much like apartment dwellings you'd see in New York. By that time I had heard about the
multi-storied brothels like this one. the higher the floor, the higher the price. The higher the floor, the
prettier the girls were. Honestly, I don't remember the bottom floors. Maybe they were just
the rookies. To early in their careers to begin that 'corporate staircase' literally sleeping their
way to the top is the road to success in this biz. No different from what goes on elsewhere.
We hurried up the winding staircase and briefly paused on several floors to gander. Pink Toes,
Sistahs, Latinas, and Geishas filled the doorways of the tiny apartments that were nothing more
than a room with a sink in the corner. Sitting or posted up in the threshholds of the rooms.
The line between paying customers and window shoppers is clearly defined by law. Once you step
foot inside the doorway of an apartment, you paid, regardless of what went on. We were all
worshippers in an arena of lionesses. Ass rubbing, crotch-grabbing, sexy, native accent-enhanced
english voices of vixens who guerilla marketed lips, hips, and fingertips with no inhibition. We flirted,
joked, and toyed with these ladies who could easily grace the covers, of Playboy, Essence, and Maxim.
Any confident brother would think twice to step to any of these ladies in awe of their beauty.
Enamored then, but later saddened by what I believed to be teenage girls who held their positions with 20-year
old pros on top floors. Certainly not the adolescence most of us know. My white lights are now dim and
have become an angry crimson hue.

I can only imagine what life has been like under those Red Lights.