The Pimp and the Reverend in Detroit

During my dancing days in the 1970's

There was this black guy I knew in Detroit, Michigan. He was the ticket and candy man at the Burlesk Theater where I worked. He was so funny. He told us girls that he was a preacher and that his name was Reverend ------ --- I do not remember his name after the Reverend part. He always was dressed in a black suit with a gold cross hanging around his neck. The funny part about it was the fact that he was a pimp.

My friend whose stage name was Misty Knight and I would aggravate him to death. We would see him on the street when he was not working at the theater. He would stand there like any good pimp looking for men to sell his whores. We would go up to him and holler, "Oh! Reverend ----! We've been lookin' for you!" We would keep calling him Reverend and Preacher really loud which was not too good for the business that he was conducting on the street. He would get really mad and say, "You Bitches get outta here! Go on, now! Get away!"

The thing was, we were messing up his action on his "main" job. It was really funny to aggravate him this way. But as I think back, I wonder if he really was a pimp. He was a really nice guy. He could have been much more harsh with us than he was and probably would have been if he had been a "real" pimp. Maybe he was afraid of losing his job at the theater if he got mean with the dancers. Or maybe he was pretending to be a pimp just as he was pretending to be a preacher. Or maybe he was just a unique, nice person and did do both.

THOUGHTS OF A STRIPPER: A Mother's Story

By Opal Dockery

 



The Old Traffic Laws in Kansas City

During my old dancing days in Kansas City in the 1970's

When I first started driving in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, I found that they had more traffic laws than what I had been used to experiencing in the small town of Lamar, Missouri. One such law involved parking.

One day during the five-o'clock rush hour, I was driving in downtown Kansas City looking for a parking spot. I had driven around for quite sometime when I saw one. I really felt lucky and wondered why nobody else had parked in it. I parked my car and went to wherever I was supposed to be going.

When I came out to my car, much to my surprise, my car was gone. I thought, "Oh! No! Someone stole my car!" I called the police. They came over. They asked me where my car was parked. I showed them. Then they showed me! They pointed to a sign - a No Parking - Tow Away sign.
Another incident relating to the big city's driving laws which I learned the hard way concerned one-way streets. I had never heard of one-way streets before in my whole life. I soon found out that they existed. I am just glad I lived through the experience.

One day in Kansas City, I was driving down the street. Suddenly, I saw a lot of cars coming toward me on my side of the street. I was frantic! They kept coming - one after the other. They were honking their horns at me and hollering obscenities. I thought, "These people are nuts! Why are they driving on the wrong side of the road? And why are they mad at me? They are the ones doing the wrong thing!
Soon, I learned that it was me who was doing the wrong thing when a compassionate driver, instead of showing his middle finger, used his index finger to point to a sign that said ONE WAY!

Medians in the middle of the road were another thing that I had never encountered in Lamar, Missouri and had never heard about. The policeman who stopped me for this violation was more dumbfounded from my improper driving act than I was from the new law I was about to encounter - new to me, anyway.

I was driving on Paseo Street in Kansas City, Missouri. There was a lot of traffic. I needed to get to the other side because I needed to go in the other direction. There was only one problem - a big piece of cement in the middle of the road which separated my raod from the one I wanted to take. I really did think it was stupid to have a big piece of cement in such a location; but I really saw no big problem from it. I just drove my car over the cement and got on the other side.

I was driving along when a policeman stopped me. He asked me why I went over the median like that. I did not know what he was talking about. He said, shaking his head, "That's the first time I ever saw anything like that - someone just driving over the median to the other side of the road". Finally, I realized what he was talking about. I replied sarcastically, "Oh! You mean that big piece of cement in the middle of the road? I drove over it because I had to get to the other side". He told me I could not do that and asked if I as drinking. I told him that I as not drinking and that I act like this all the time. He told me that he would not give me a ticket but for me to never do that again. I was confused and asked him how I could get to the other side of the road without driving over the cement. He explained to me how to go to the light and turn around. I asked him, "You mean I have to go all the way up to the light and turn back this way?" He said, "Yes". I was still baffled by this rule when I asked him why they put big cement blocks in the middle of the road anyway. He just shook his head and walked away, but said as he was leaving, "I'm not going to give you a ticket. You have enough problems the way it is!:

 

100 STORIES FROM AN OLD STRIPPER

By Opal Dockery

 

Now on AMAZON & LULU:

 





The Thrill of Shocking People

Most of the girls I worked with as a stripper were natural exhibitionists including myself. At that time of my life, I enjoyed the thrill of shocking people. I still do but, maybe, not as intensely as I did back then.

I never wore a bra. Sometimes my tops were so skimpy and see through that a blind man could have seen my nipples.
Some girls I worked with in Buffalo, New York proved to be as wild, if not wilder, than me. They went to eat at the chicken place next door to the burlesk theater. After they ate, the waitress came over to give them the check. One of the girls who had extra big tits just pulled them out and dropped them on the table and said, "How much do we owe?"

They were told to leave and never come back and to forget about the bill - just leave! That was alright with them. They figured they got a free meal and would probably never be in Buffalo again anyway. And if they were, that was not the only restaurant in town. The shocked look on the face of the waitress was worth getting kicked out and barred.

One time after work in Kansas City, Missouri, a customer who had the "hots" for me gave my friend, a stripper, and me a ride a few blocks away from the club where we were working to a party at a restaurant. He was a low-keyed quiet married man. We were all three in his pick-up truck. My friend was sitting in the middle. It was rush hour traffic. My friend pulled her top up and shook her breasts. He said, "Oh! My God!" She could have caused him to have a wreck. It was so funny to see the surprised look on his face that a wreck would have been worth it.

These are just examples of what most of us strippers liked to do for fun. The thrill of seeing the surprised, shocked, look on someone's face was fun and is fun to do.

 

A story from

 

100 STORIES FROM AN OLD STRIPPER

By Opal Dockery

 

Now available on AMAZON, BARNES & NOBLE and LULU:

 



Kansas City Kitty Showing Me the Ropes

Kansas City Kitty took me under her wing and showed me the "ropes" of the stripping business. She was an older lady who had been dancing for quite some time. If it had not been for her advice, I would have made a lot more mistakes than I did.

We worked at the Pink Pussy in Kansas City, Missouri as well as the Folly's Burlesk Theater. At the Pink Pussy Cat, we were strippers. At the Folly's Burlesk, I was a stripper and she was

a cashier.

She taught me how to put on pasties - a stiff cloth of material shaped like the nipple that covered only the nipple. We had to wear this because of the Kansas City laws - no nipples could show.

She taught me how to put on the different layers of my outfit - such as G-String first - then G-Strap over that or some sort of clothing that resembled panties.

She sold me my first dancing gown for $10.00. That was a lot for me back then; but it was a good deal. It was a really pretty red, sequin gown trimmed in black feathers. It was the same gown I had seen in many visions when I was married and did not even comprehend what a stripper was. Being a stripper was the furthest thing from my mind back then. But the visions would haunt me, especially, at night when I lay awake and could not go to sleep. Not only would I see myself stripping on a stage in front of a bunch of men; but I would, also, see my children in different states. All this proved to be true.

Kansas City Kitty, also, helped me make life-long decisions concerning my children. I did not know what to do with my children if I went on the road to dance. It was time for John to go to the first grade. She suggested putting him in a military school.

That was the best advice I ever got from anyone concerning my children. I just wish I would have kept him in there for his twelve years of school; so does he.

Kansas Kitty Kitty proved to be very helpful in teaching me how to get money out of men. She would make up a story that we were collecting money to get a pizza. The guys would chip in. For some reason, the pizza never did come.

A "guy" that really liked me a lot was going to take me out to spend money on me for such things as clothes and boots. Kansas City Kitty wanted me to get in practice on conning men; so she gave me a list of things for me to get for her. Some of the things were different pieces of material and a bottle of her favorite perfume - Taboo. I had "the guy" take me to the costume shop. I got the material she wanted. He said, “That looks like material Kansas City Kitty makes her outfits out of.” I was not sure of myself and got really nervous; so I was really afraid to get the perfume. I thought he would catch on to that, too. I did not want her to be mad at me; so I bought the perfume for her myself. This really made her

mad. She told me that it was not the perfume that she cared about. She wanted me to get the “feel” for conning men. I did over the years; and I am glad.

One time before I learned my lessons well from Kansas City Kitty, I went home at a “guy's” apartment and spent the night with him. I told her about it the next day. She said, “Well, what is he going to do for you?” I said that I guessed nothing and that he had offered to give me gas money; but I turned it down. She held her head in her hands explaining to me that I should get things and money out of these guys - and to not let them have anything free.

One night, after I had spent the night with him, he came in the club saying he was looking for his "Little Rose". By then, I finally had decided in my mind what he was looking for was a free piece of ass

anytime he wanted. I told Kansas City Kitty, "He looks like an old hound dog lookin' for a bitch dog in heat.” She laughed so much! I think she knew as I did that I had finally seen the light about these guys. From now on, I would be no one else's "Little Rose". At least, not a "free rose".

The first time I went on the road, Kansas City Kitty gave me a necklace with St. Christopher to help protect me. She was a Catholic. I was not; but I felt that it might help me. I wish I still

had it.

Kansas City Kitty was oriental. It was really difficult to see what she looked like because she wore a lot of garb on her face - big dark glasses, big bushy blond hair, and lots of make-up. She would holler from the stage, "I'm a clown!" She twirled the tassels on her breasts; but they were false breasts - I heard - she did not tell me this. I, also, heard that she had received silicone injections and had made them too big which caused her to have them removed. I, also, heard that she had cancer. I guess it was cancer of the breasts.

One thing I did not like about her advice was when she tried to get me to get small amounts of silicone injections. But this is the only thing I remember that was bad advice. Luckily, I had enough "horse-sense" to know that this was not for me.

Kansas City Kitty always encouraged me to start saving money and invest it. She said her relatives had cheated her out of a bunch of money - something to do with a savings she had had with one of the relatives. She had some money saved in a savings and loan under this relative's name. This person had died; and the other relatives kept her part of the money even though they knew it belonged to her. She cautioned me to never invest my money in a savings

and loan.

I really do appreciate all the time Kansas City Kitty took with me to help get me on my feet as a stripper as well as the special interest she took in my personal life with my kids. From the first time she said, “Do you really want to get into it?” - (referring to the stripping

business); and I answered, “Yes.” - She showed me the “ropes” and gave me priceless advice on everything. I wish she were alive; so I could say, “Thank you.”

100 STORIES FROM AN OLD STRIPPER

By Opal Dockery