Ask Larry: The Collected Leather Notebook Columns

Dear Abby in boots and a harness.From 1979 to 1992, Larry Townsend wrote an advice column in Drummer and Honcho covering topics from “how do I find a Master?” to “can I get AIDS from fisting?” His responses were direct and clear, and still resonate today. These letters were written by the people who formed the beginnings of the Leather community that lives on today--and carried all of their worries, dreams, and hopes. Ask Larry is a complete lesson in the folkways of Leather from one of the men who laid the foundations of the community today.People asked him why he took the letters so seriously. “After all, they ask, some of these things are so silly that it’s hard to imagine why someone would actually be concerned about them.” His response:"But that’s the whole point of a column like this. It provides a forum for a guy to ask question(s) with whatever degree of anonymity (and naïveté) he wishes and have it answered without his having to expose himself to the jaundiced eye of a more sophisticated or less sympathetic adviser."Ever had questions about Leather? Haven't known where to turn?Here are answers from the guy who literally wrote the handbook. Read more