I experienced a reawakening after leaving the repressive regime of my youth. My parents weren’t so strict but rather dealt a heavy dose of guilt to me after my myriad sins. Leaving a small town for big city life was like being reborn as the hefty yolk of born again final judgment was lifted. No matter what they say, WASP guilt can be powerful stuff when delivered from a true believer even if my Jewish friends contend otherwise.

That’s why I appreciated the beginning of a Reuters (07/22/06) article about a huge swingers’ convention in Las Vegas. Its opening briefly described the conservative past of one participant, Vera Rhodes. She grew up Amish in Pennsylvania remained a virgin until wed at 30. Now at 54 and divorced, she speaks openly about encounters with multiple sex partners.

Rhodes who earns a living giving massages somewhere in Iowa, she exclaimed, “Last night it was really special. There was a couple from Mexico, a couple from Virginia and a couple from Ireland, from Australia. I like to participate in life as much as possible.”

She was just one of some 3000 folks visiting last Saturday at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual Lifestyles conference, a 5-day, $700-per-couple event offering seminars, socializing and sex.

The Stardust bunch seems mostly middle-aged and middle-class. Many aren’t as active in the community as the formerly Amish Rhodes is. People organizing the event estimate around 40 percent of couples are first time attendees. As one newcomer from Palm Springs, California who was raised Roman Catholic explains, “I’m still thinking about it; we’ve been monogamous for 26 years.”

Nevertheless, the sinful event stirs a near religious fervor in its followers, it was reported that a woman passed out swooning over witnessing a sexual device being demonstrated in front of a crowded room of people.

Another anonymous couple eagerly announced that they made love earlier in a hospitality suite where other watching couples wandered in an out. The experience sparked renewed passion as they glowed with excitement. Apparently, it’s like a naked revival meeting. Amen, halleluiah, you’re preaching to the choir on that one!