Things are starting to slip...

Didn't you believe that—once we reached a certain point in permissive attitudes toward sex—things would never go back the other direction? I did. After growing up in the 70s, when porn theaters and massage parlors were everywhere, and totally nude clubs were plentiful, it's amazing that clubs in San Antonio cannot even show a bare nipple.

Rick's has been my go-to club in SA for awhile, but my visit this week showed that, if attention is not paid, things begin to decline. The club is becoming a little bit more dirty, a little less well-cared-for, every time I go. On this visit, one door was open to a big storage room, full of busted chairs and old booths. Doesn't seem like it would take much to shut the door...but nobody did.

Worse, though, is the newly-mandated item of apparel for the women — skirts! That's right, strippers now have to wear these stretchy, short black skirts, just in case anyone over 21 might be corrupted by seeing one-sixteenth of a butt cheek. Dancers now don't take anything off on stage, just move around in their tops and skirts...with granny panties underneath to keep from revealing too much.

It was dead when I got to the club about 11:30am. I figured some people would show up just because there was air conditioning, since it was 107 outside. But no...it was a tomb. There were only two girls there for the longest time, one sitting with each of the two customers in the place. For over an hour, no one was called to the stage to dance, because there was nobody to dance for. I enjoyed chatting with my usual fave and the waitress, but my mind kept being drawn back to the club itself.

They seem to have brightened the lights some, perhaps due to the recent banning of one great dancer who will have no trouble building a fan club at another local spot. But increased lighting just points out the places where walls are crumbling and furniture is getting threadbare and shabby. The men's room actually had flies buzzing around, and one of the toilet stall doors seemed to have been destroyed and replaced with a simple piece of plywood.