The Field of Bent Over Asses
If I turned my head to the right or the left I saw nothing but a field of bent over asses. Round, firm, wide, flat, hairy, smooth, some covered, some barely covered, some totally covered asses. Yes. Right up close and personal. Actually, usually right behind me. The Bootblacks of Folsom Street Fair are bent over doing their job. Keeping those leathers supple, clean, conditioned and smelling delicious.
Now I am not going to be able to go back, if there was a back, farther than Driller, IMrBB 1997. He was one of the first people I remember organizing the bootblack stands. My involvement with the Bootblacks began in 2000.
When I began my Dore/Folsom attendance Bootdog, IMrBB 2008 and Noral organized and ran the booth. It is a lot of work and Bootdog was about to go off to get his MBA and Noral was ready to retire. Bootdog and Noral asked boyJean to take on the task. He said yes.
That was about seven years ago boyJean, ICCB 2007 took over the organization of bootblacks. He needed a pimp and he asked me. I said yes. One of the very best decisions I ever made as a femme leather dyke.
For as long as we can remember there have been bootblacks at the Fairs. It has been tradition for many years for the bootblacks who won International Contests (IMsL, IMLBootblack,IML/IMrBB, ILSb/ICBB) to do their partner-in-sash leathers. It has been the place where title holders of all regional, state, and local bootblacks worked. Hard. The bootblack tents, sponsored by Folsom Street Fairs has always collected a small fee which paid for stands, paid for transport of equipment and the balance went to charity.
I want to thank all the bootblacks from our community who work just as hard as titleholders to serve the community at the Fairs. It was always a pleasure to meet new faces. Both older folks and younger folks. Those who work so hard without the overwhelming attention of a title. I salute you. If my knees where better I would kneel before you. You deserve it.
The bootblack stands don’t just magically appear with a non glittery poof! People actually have to be organized, tickets printed, change for the money bag, get up at 5 am to haul stands, chairs, cases of water, check in with Folsom Central, get our volunteer passes, and set up all the equipment.
boyJean wrangled the bootblacks with due diligence and the patience of a saint. He worked around titleholders on stage schedule, fly in times, play schedules, work schedules to make everything work. He hauled heavy ass stands made of 2/4’s in a rented van at 5 in the morning and at 6 at night for all those years. He saw three generations of stands, going from the heavy SOBs that where like a jigsaw puzzle to put together to a lighter weight yet stronger and a cinch to put together stands. We added chairs for elders to wait and put aside early number tickets for those who were over 65 or physically could not stand and wait.
The best part of this was the most amazing people I met and served: the bootblacks. No pretenses (or very little), supportive of one another, hydrating each other (yes I may be talking a few yellow hankies), encouraging each other, laughing together, sharing products, eating together, and consistently positive. It was heaven. It was leather heaven. I was ass deep in the exquisite smell of leather, products and bootblacks sweating. It was bliss.
I always preferred being called the Bootblack Concierge. I would show up about 10am, put all the signs up, set up a table and chairs, set up beverages, take charge of the volunteer passes, and became keeper of the tickets and moneybag. It was my job to deal with the “public” and the “community”. They were totally different. While Dore Alley was a community celebration and mostly delightful, fun, hot, and everyone is in a fabulous mood, Folsom was a whole different tin of wax.
While boyJean took a well deserved break my job was to run the booth, check in the bootblacks, make sure they drank lots of water, sell the tickets, encourage tipping, protect the bootblacks, keep the waiting customers smiling, make sure the bootblacks ate, took breaks, and still keep the flow going. At Folsom this is exacerbated by tourists.
While there are some horrors mostly related to drunk tourists who bought toys. Like the time tourist bought a new crop and decided to whack the ass of the bootblack at the end stand. Or how many times I said, “Do not chain your submissive to the bootblack tent poles.” Or the time I watched four drunk tourists swinging a signal tail in front of the tent. The swings were wild and getting wilder all the time. I gently encouraged them to move onto somewhere that was not in front of our booth and that swinging a random whip without considering who was around you is dangerous. I know I may have raised my voice a few times to clear out the overcrowded voyeurs that impaired the ability to the bootblacks to do their work. And it was joyful work.We were the bootblack lounge. Visiting bootblacks could stash their gear, head out to play or shop or eat and come back for some shade.
My memories are full of all the bootblacks that have wound their way through the stands. I will always be humbled to be part of the Folsom Street Fair experience. After seven years, boyJean and I are stepping aside for the next generation of organizers. Like all things it is hard to let go of your baby and pass it on but it is time.
Teagan and Jesbian
Teagan and Jesbian have agreed to step up and carry on the tradition of the Bootblack stands at the Folsom Street Fair. Teagan will be doing all the organizing and setting of schedules for both Dore Alley and Folsom Street Fair. She is Southwest Bootblack 2017 and lives in Oakland. She was our choice because of her dedication to the art, her knowledge of the community, her ability to organize, her dependability, and her people skills.
Jesbian is the Ms. California Leather 2017 and will be our new Bootblack Concierge. We chose Jesbian for her fabulous ability to schmooze. She has the balance needed to cajole, care, and stand up for the bootblacks at the stands. She has the voice needed to be able to sweetly move the muggles on, protect the bootblacks from being overwhelmed by people, and to do it all with a smile.
Handling throngs of people all wanting something different is a true experience of balance. A balance between being sweet, kind and compassionate with the need to sometimes be stern, protective, and educating the public on appropriate decorum. These are skills she owns!
It has been a great run. Jean and I thank all the bootblacks for all their love, laughter and naughtyness. It was boyJean and my honor to serve you. You are always in our hearts.
The Legacy continues. The Art of Bootblacking is alive.
Deborah Hoffman-Wade, M.Th.,MSW, ICSW, is at heart a Femme Leather Dyke. Fierce and fabulous, Deborah is Ms. Alameda County Leather 2009. She is past producer of several bay area contests (Mr. San Francisco Leather, Northern California LeatherSir, boy and Bootblack). She was the 2013 San Francisco Leather Alliance Leather Woman of the Year and the 2014 Leather Marshall to the San Francisco Pride Parade. Deborah was a columnist for Lavender Press (MPLS/ST. Paul) and Of A Like Mind (Madison, WI) and writes op/ed for Leatherati.com. She is Co-Author of Partners in Change: Building Collaborations. More important than all the above stuff, she is wife to Schon Wade for going on 29 years and Ma’am to her boy Mike Gelfand. She is also Oscar’s Momma.
