Recently by Alison Cumbow

Illustration by Cat Coquillette

Editor's note: Dancers preferred to use only their first names or their stage names for this story. 

   Before anyone can enter the heavy metal door, a man pokes his head through the front window and checks identification. If a customer is of age, he or she will get a neon-colored wristband. These customers will help the business' profits when they buy the club's watered-down drinks. Those who are 18 and can't legally drink can still put money into the business as well: They can throw dollar bills on the stage -- or they can hold them in their teeth so the women in the Lucite heels can take them personally. The only problem is, most of them don't have as many bills to spare anymore. 

   The economic crisis that the United States of America is in is affecting every industry. It's affecting the newspaper industry -- it was just announced that The Miami Herald is up for sale -- the automobile industry -- three of which asked the government for billions in a bailout -- and one that hasn't ever historically been hit when in rough times: the adult entertainment industry. In the past, it has been said that sex, booze and tobacco were recession-proof. Now, the adult entertainment industry doesn't seem to be omitted from the financial crisis most Americans are feeling. 

   Nationally, adult entertainment companies like Playboy have been hit hard. In November of last year, Playboy's shares sold for $11.40 each. This November, shares sold for $1.12 each.

Locally, adult entertainment in Lawrence has also felt the crunch. Jessica, a dancer at All Stars Strip Club, 913 N. 2nd St., said she used to bring home $300 a night, and now she only brings home $100. Kitty, a dancer at Paradise Saloon, 1697 N. 1802 Road, also said she wasn't bringing home as much money as she was before. 

   "It got bad toward the end of October," she said. "I would make half a grand, and I never left without less than $200 or $250." Kitty said lately if she makes more than $100, she considers that to be really good. She also said she has left with as little as $25. 

   "Some nights we have quite a few guys, but I don't make shit because they don't tip," she said. 

   Some strip clubs around Lawrence offer interesting economical alternatives to their customers. Jeff Wallace, owner of The Outhouse, 1837 N. 1500 Road, said his business was doing better than ever because his club was BYOB (Bring Your Own Beer). The cover charge is $20, and any amount of alcohol is permitted inside the club with no extra fees attached. Wallace said the cover charge was a reason his business was thriving and that it also made his club cheaper than other clubs. 

   "Economically, we're a lot more affordable," he said. "When other clubs are charging $5 or $6 a drink, I'm only charging $20 for cover," he said. Wallace also said he had since seen a change in the clientele of his establishment. 

   "We don't have as many business men as before. We have more college-aged kids and construction workers." 

    Zach Snyder, one of the owners of Paradise Saloon, said that his club wasn't feeling an economical impact as a business because it was a private gentleman's club. He didn't comment on what his dancers were making individually. 

   "We're a lot different than our competition. We're one of the few private clubs left around," he said. "We're very particular about who we let through the door." Snyder said his club has more older generation members and only a few of the younger generation.

   Still, Kitty said her salary at the end of the week wasn't near what it used to be. She said the club was low on dancers and that there were more when she started last summer. "They're all quitting because it's so slow," she said. 

   "Now, we have all these skanky bitches." 

   Aside from the strip clubs in Lawrence, other facets of adult entertainment are feeling the pinch, also. In an article from Wired.com dated July 21, 2008, Steve Orenstein, president and founder of Wicked Pictures (an adult film company) said after being in the adult entertainment industry for 29 years, this was the first time he could say his company was absolutely feeling the effects of the economy.

   "There was a line we used to use about this business being recession-proof. When people talked about the economy, we'd say our business is fine. But look, now you'd have to be blind and deaf not to see that there are problems." 

   An employee, who did not want his name printed, at Miracle Video, 1910 Haskell Ave., said that the numbers on adult films were down a bit in both sales and rentals. 

   "I think people are tightening their belts," he said. 

   Gerry Kaufhold, principal analyst at In-Stat, a market research firm, said that adult DVD rentals were absolutely going down, and that Internet porn sales were, also, in part because many videos could be viewed for free. 

   "The Internet was very good for porn from 1997-2007," he said. In regards to the adult entertainment industry being known as recession-proof, Kaufhold said that now people are starting to see that's not the case anymore. 

   "Part of it is technology, because the DVD doesn't degenerate with use," he said. The other part, he said was that people had tighter money, and they needed to buy gas and food, so interest in buying new adult DVD's has gone down. 

    Because of the strain on the economy nationally, the once sure-fire industry of adult entertainment has finally been hit -- as seen in companies like Playboy, in strip clubs and in video stores. Kitty said she's on a tighter budget now, and that she has to think more about how she is going to support herself and her three beloved snakes. 

   In Lawrence's strip clubs and throughout the country, dancers -- like Kitty who said she has to think more about how to support herself and her three beloved snakes -- and consumers alike are strapped for cash and trying to find alternatives to the plunging economy. Whether it's skipping a video rental to buy lunch or missing out on tips, each side of adult entertainment is feeling the strain -- whether they're gripping a pole or a wallet.

                                                            Contributed photo by Kacey Carlson

            

The shop smells like incense. The walls are covered with splotchy paint. The door creaks loudly when it opens or closes. There are herbs and spices lining racks. Customers touch everything. They pick up gems and decks of cards and turn them over and over in their hands. The cats are busy rearranging things.

A witch sits in the back corner of the store on the loveseat, typing at a computer. She has faded red hair and her bangs are in her face. She's not wearing a black pointy hat, she doesn't have a wart on her nose, and her last name doesn't have a cardinal direction in it. Her name doesn't start with "wicked," either. In fact, her name is mundane. The witch is Kacey Carlson.

Carlson is a Chicago-native and co-owner of The Village Witch, 311 N. 2^nd St. She is a psychic. Her job incorporates her personal beliefs, her religion and her passion. She gives readings to customers who seek her help. She reads tarot cards and she counsels her customers for $60 an hour.

Carlson's loveseat is next to an altar. There is a woman in the Mandala painting above the altar, which seems to closely resemble a shrine. The woman in the painting has a familiar face, and familiar haunting blue eyes.

The painting's subject is recognizable because she sitting right next to it. The woman in the Mandala painting is the same woman on the couch -- Carlson.

The word Mandala comes from the Hindu language. It means "concentric energy circle," and it is associated with spirituality. According to Carl Jung, a Mandala was a representation of the unconscious self.

Carlson used a photograph that had been previously taken of her to create the background of the painting.

"It was taken when I was pregnant with Rain, but I didn't know it yet," she said.

In the picture and in the Mandala, Carlson was pregnant with her only daughter, Rain Michael. Her daughter hasn't seen the painting yet, and she never will -- she died for no particular reason during birth, said Carlson.

She had tears in her eyes when she spoke of the experience, and although her baby girl died in June of 2003, when Carlson talked about it in a hushed whisper, it was as though her grief was as fresh as ever.

Carlson said when her daughter passed away, she was given a prophecy that she would have 100 daughters.

Carlson painted 100 mothers on the bottom of the Mandala and 100 daughters on the top. She said all of the figures were channeled through her from various deities - or as her friends call them, her "rice krispies" - the voices that speak to her and show her things in her head.

  

Vixey Rose, a friend of Carlson's, said the fact that Carlson channeled 200 deities was amazing. "Channeling a deity is exhausting," she said. "I've only channeled two."

Carlson identifies herself as many things. She is a Wiccan and she is a witch. She also calls herself a synchronist and a white magician. She is a practitioner of the 3-fold law - doing something negative or positive and having it come back three times.

She leads study groups and she is quick to inform anyone about her field of expertise - from the study of tarot cards to what it means to channel a deity.

Carlson said to a certain extent, she felt she had always been a Wiccan, but that she wasn't raised that way.

"It is true that people who define themselves as Wiccan or Pagan will say that they are kind of born that way," she said. "You find out progressively that there are other people that believe that way."

"I was actually raised Christian," she said. "But I did my first magic spell when I was four, and I sort of invented a tarot deck when I was 11."

Carlson said she had never seen a tarot deck before she made her own at 11. She said she invented cards with pictures on them that she could tell fortunes with. She said they had a striking resemblance to actual tarot cards and that she made 21 of them - how many cards it takes for an actual reading.

Carlson said she read her first book in which the word Wicca was defined at the age of 18, around 1985.

"Suddenly I found there were names for things I had already sensed and that there were other people who felt that way, too," she said.

A whole new world opened up for Carlson after that.

"I dove in," she said. "I started reading everything I could get my hands on."

Carlson said people like her would have read a lot of mythology as children and bonded with the idea that there were many faces for deity.

Carlson has psychic ability, but she considers it a very young science and said that everyone has at least some of the same abilities as she.

"The way I define psychic ability, I often use the metaphor of musical ability," she said. "Everyone is born with some talent, a little bit of talent. There are Mozart's out there and there are people who can't hold a tune."

Carlson emits intelligence when she talks and her eyes make constant contact with whomever she is listening to. Her strong gaze could make someone wonder if she was reading their mind or seeing their inevitable future.

During her days, Carlson is busy helping others decipher hidden meanings in their dreams and what their problems might mean for tomorrow.

Nicole Monroe, a customer of Carlson's and also a potential daughter, said Carlson helped her immensely.

"I came into the shop, I was in chaos, and I got a reading from her, and it helped put things into perspective for me," she said. "She had never met me before, but she was able to pin down seven or eight things about my personality that people I had known for years couldn't."

"Customers come in here to ask advice. We're very careful to not sell anything that is intangible," Carlson said.

Rose said Carlson was especially good at healing.

Carlson said she sees up to 25 people a day, and her count very much depended on the type of weather.

"The only thing that seems to be predictive at all is weather," she said. We can have a stellar Tuesday and a horrible Saturday. It's interesting that in really horrifying weather, people come in."

Besides her work, Carlson founded a charity group called Tribe Threee. Monroe and Rose said that Carlson's way of igniting compassion in others is what made Tribe Threee so successful. The foundation raises money through parties for various causes throughout Lawrence.

During her time off, Carlson has made it her mission to find her supposed children. She made a MySpace page devoted to the cause.

"Many women have identified themselves as feeling like they are my daughters," she said. "It's become my mission to find those women and provide whatever kind of mothering is needed."

Carlson wears bat charms around her neck to symbolize Rain Michael and some of the other "daughters" she has accumulated since the death of her own.

Carlson said in retrospect, the thought of someday having 100 daughters helped her recover from the pain of losing her child. So far, Carlson said 12 people have told her they thought they were her children, and she is on the hunt for only 88 more. Although Carlson identifies herself in a not-so-traditional way, her goals in life are similar to many others' -- to have all sorts of love -- except with a lot more children.

Wrapping necks in damp scarves, struggling to put on mittens and wrestling feet into damp boots will soon be daily occurrences. After Halloween, it seems that temperatures plummet, and with the arrival of Thanksgiving there is no going back to 80-degree days - at least for a while. Winter is coming ... again. Besides bundling up, winter also means bad weather conditions and a lot of precipitation getting in the way.

Although getting help walking through winter slush isn't the City of Lawrence's responsibility, driving on the soon-to-be ice-ridden roads is. The Street Maintenance Division of the City of Lawrence has all the roads mapped out, which one to start clearing first - the highly populated, of course - which one to salt first - if snow fall is under three inches - and advice to those not wanting to dig their cars out when they're done plowing: move it!
Mark Thiel, assistant director of Public Works of the City of Lawrence said his division began preparing for the next winter season in April.

"Throughout the summer, we get our standard maintenance done. We make sure all our equipment is in good working order and we order our new materials such as salt and sand," he said.

On Nov. 4, the division will have a "practice run," to make sure all the maps are accurate and effective, and that all the equipment is running smoothly.
"We load up and head out as if we had an actual snowfall. They drive their routes, get familiar, and see how long it's going to take," Thiel said.

According to answers.com, Lawrence gets an average snowfall of 18 inches per year, but a median of less than 10. The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the High Plains region, which includes Kansas, will experience a somewhat-warmer winter this year. According to its website, the coldest periods will be in the first half of December, early and late January, and early and mid-February. Precipitation will be near or slightly below normal, with below normal snowfall. Also according to the site, the snowiest periods will be in early December, mid-January, most of February, and early and mid-March.
Thiel said the Street Maintenance Division employs 41 equipment operators, and in order to successfully clear the roads, two crews are sent out to work 12-hour shifts, and that they work around the clock for major events. Thiel used the word "event" to signify when lots of precipitation is imminent.

"We monitor the weather," he said. "Before a big event, we'll have some kind of meeting to talk about our strategy, we track it through a work order system, and if we're going to get moisture, we would have people standing by."

The division is funded through various ways. Thiel said the funding is a combination, that part of it comes from the Motor Fuel Tax--which is a percentage of the money taken from every gallon of gas citizens of Lawrence put in their own cars--part comes from the state of Kansas--it distributes money to counties and municipalities based on a breakdown, and the rest is funded through the General Fund Tax, which is money paid for through many things in the city.

Aside from clearing the roads and salting them, there are other groups in Lawrence that have responsibilities during the winter. According to the City of Lawrence website, to make public sidewalks safe for pedestrians, the owner or occupant of property immediately adjacent to a public sidewalk is responsible for the removal of any snow or ice that accumulates on the sidewalk. Removal must be done within 24 hours after the ice forms or the snowfall ends. In the event that removal of ice is impossible, the property owner or occupant is required to place sand on the sidewalk within 24 hours. The City of Lawrence also asks citizens to be good neighbors. According to the website, residents are responsible for the snow removal in driveways and maintenance of sidewalks adjacent to their properties. There is no formal organization to assist people with these responsibilities.
As for apartments, where many students live, the property's management company is responsible for clearing the sidewalks and parking lots. Brittany O'Donnell, leasing agent for Gage Management, said that the company would put salt down on the sidewalks for those tenants who don't take care of their own lawns.

"We clear the parking lots also," she said.

Individually, residents of Lawrence need to prepare their cars for the upcoming winter season. According to Vincent Ciulla of About.com's Top 10 Things to do to Prepare Your Vehicle for Winter, people should: 1.) Change the oil, 2.) Check the anti-freeze, 3.) Replace windshield wipers, 4.) Replace the fuel filter, 5.) Replace the spark plugs, 6.) Check and replace the serpentine belt(s), 7.) Check the lights and fuses, 8.) Check the rear window defroster, 9.) Check and replace the battery, and 10.) Check the tires.

Winter is rapidly approaching, and many different facets of the community are gearing up to face it together. The City of Lawrence is preparing to clear the roads as effectively as possible one road at a time. Residents of Lawrence should be prepared to take on their responsibilities as well, even if it is with just a grain of salt.

   Two restaurants in Lawrence are no longer offering their customers Bud Light on tap. Josh Mochel, owner of Jo Shmo's, 724 Massachusetts St., replaced the popular beverage with Old Style, a Pabst Brewing Company beer. At Vermont Street BBQ, 728 Massachusetts St., bar manager, Megan Carle, said the owner wanted only American beer on draft -- InBev's purchase of Anheuser-Busch has since changed that, and made Bud Light a Belgian brew.

   On July 7, InBev announced its plans to buy Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion. On Sept. 29, the required support of shareholders representing at least 75 percent of InBev's total equity backed the bid, according to the Association of Financial Professionals. Also according to the AFP, the combined company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, will have net sales of about 36 billion dollars a year, offering customers some 300 brands, including Anheuser's Budweiser and Bud Light.

   Both Jo Shmo's and Vermont Street BBQ have full bars and are open late into the night. With many college students as both of the establishments' main demographic, the purchase of Anheuser-Busch by InBev has impacted Lawrence locally, and many students' wallets.

   Mochel said that InBev increased the price of Bud Light kegs. In total, including the delivery charges, safety deposit, and the actual beer, the price is now $110. Mochel was charging customers $3.50 for a Bud Light pint and $5 for a pitcher of the beer. 

   Now that he has switched to Old Style, he pays $54 total for each keg, and he has dropped the price for a pint of the replacement to $2.50, albeit the price of an Old Style pitcher has remained the same at $5. Mochel said his bar goes through three kegs of Old Style a week, which is a big contrast to the only one keg of Bud Light he went through a week previously.

   Mochel said he goes through 5,000 plastic cups a month because of his beer specials. With his ability to lower the price of his pints (on Wednesday's, the drafts are only a dollar), because of the more cost efficient Old Style, his customers, most of whom are college students, are able to save money when they hit his bar. 

   One-hundred-twenty-four pints can come out of a single keg, so Mochel is also racking in money -- he is now making 100 percent profit off of the Old Style draft versus the 40 percent he was making off of the Bud Light.

   Carle said many of her customers ask why Vermont Street BBQ made the decision to take Bud Light off tap, but she doesn't think it has affected them. Their question can be answered with the fact that the owner only wants American beer on draft to go with the bunch of American Tall Grass from Manhattan, and the Boulevard beer from Kansas City. 

   "We like to think they have the same tastes we do," she said.

   In contrast, Manager of Cork and Barrel, 901 Mississippi St., Larry Johnson said he hadn't seen much of a change in his customers' tastes in Budweiser because of the InBev purchase, but that all the prices had gone up the week before. He said the Bud Light and Coors Light kegs went up from $88.99 to $95.99, and that the Miller Lite kegs had gone up to $99.99. 

   "The prices of beer in general are going up, even wine is going up," he said. "But that's because of gas prices, not because of the InBev price structure."

   Manager of Abe and Jake's Landing, 8 E. 6^th St., Ryan Lantz said the reason his bar didn't serve Bud Light on tap was because it was easier and faster for his bartenders to hand a customer a bottle rather than wait to fill up a cup.

   Every Thursday, The University Daily Kansan publishes an entertainment section called Jayplay, in which bar specials are always available. Lawrence.com has an entire section of its website devoted to nightlife aimed at helping residents find something to do.