Cold hip bath

I'm 74 years old. Several years ago I came across JackinWorld. If only this information had been available when I was growing up. All you readers, particularly you younger ones, are extremely fortunate to have such a special Web site, which provides important, sought after information.

My first experience with anything sexual (as I eventually made the connection) occurred after my dad attached a heavy rope to a high limb on a tree in our backyard. I was about 9 at that time, probably not even that old, when I would try to climb that rope to the top. Now, I'm not sure this could be considered a form of masturbation, but one time while climbing, as I pulled up my knees and clasped my legs and feet around the rope for the next pull-up, a most intense, pleasurable feeling began to course through my entire body. In fact, it became so intense, I thought I was going to lose my grip and fall. I didn't know what was happening, but I certainly liked the feeling, and I climbed that rope every chance I got until my family and I moved.

Sometime later, when I was in my early teens (and getting erections continuously), I knew vaguely that a penis was supposed to be inserted into a vagina. One day while I was in my bathroom sitting on the toilet, I started to experiment by gripping my hand (trying to simulate what I thought a vagina would be like) around my already erect penis. It felt heavenly, and I discovered that if I moved my hand, I produced more intense feelings in my penis and groin area. Well, it didn't take long before the sensations intensified to the maximum and a white fluid shot from the tip of my penis. I was overwhelmed and dazed. My penis was red and swollen — I thought I had permanently damaged it. However, the next day the color returned to normal and I couldn't resist trying again what I had done the day before. That resulted in the same overwhelming sensations, but I was still concerned about ruining myself. I was too afraid and embarrassed to talk about this new, overpowering sensation. I just continued the practice and felt guilty about it for some reason.

When I was old enough (12 at the time), I joined the Boy Scouts. In the 1940 Scout Handbook, under "Health Conservation," pages 480-481 (well read pages by most Scouts), were several paragraphs dealing with a boy growing to manhood and the changes that take place. A paragraph mentioned nocturnal emissions and that they were natural, however: "No steps should be taken to excite seminal emissions. That is masturbation." It went on to say that this is a bad habit, should be fought against, and kept away from. It admonishes one to keep control in sex matters, that it is manly to do so, and that doing so is "important for one's life, happiness, efficiency, and the whole human race as well." Additionally, "a cold hip bath will help (water temperature 56 to 60 degrees F., sitting in a tub, feet out, 15 minutes at night before going to bed)."

Fortunately, later editions excluded this information and admonitions. Unfortunately, the information found on pages 480-481 was certainly not the only place that similar misinformation was available. It tended to create guilt, fear, and a question of having a weak character, or an inability to control one's body and mind. I continually broke sacred promises to stop that "bad habit." I once went for 30 days without masturbating, but I finally gave in to my physical and mental craving and desire, not knowing that this was a natural thing to do and that most guys did it.

When I was in high school, I finally made the connection between the overwhelming sensations I had felt as a little boy when climbing that rope, and when I was masturbating my penis with my hand. I tried climbing a rope in the gym after school. Those familiar feelings began to well up in me, and I climaxed, ejaculating in my jock strap. Since then, I have always wondered how nature is served by males being able to induce a sexual orgasm by climbing a rope or pole.

After I was married, I continued to masturbate from time to time, depending on my wife's interest in sexual intercourse, and as time passed, her interest became less and less. I used one particular technique when I would work late. When I arrived home late, my wife would be already in bed asleep. Before I got into bed I would put a liberal amount of Vaseline on my finger and grab several tissues. If my wife woke up and was receptive to intercourse, I would wipe the Vaseline off my finger with a tissue and engage in sex. If she was not receptive, which was frequent, I would wait until she went back to sleep, and then I'd apply the Vaseline to my erect penis, but only to my glans and just immediately below it on my shaft. In order not to shake the bed, I would make a ring with my thumb and index finger and slowly move the tight ring down over my glans, continuing over the lubricated area just below my glans. I would release the tight ring I made with my thumb and index finger, slide the now-loose ring gently up to my glans, then start the process over. The sensations would be extremely intense, and it wouldn't take long until I was at the point of orgasm. During orgasm I would make sounds as if I were clearing my throat, in order to cover up my uncontrollable sounds of ecstasy. Also, I would move as if I were turning on my side to disguise my body jerks and jumps that accompany intense orgasms. Of course, I would catch my ejaculate in a tissue, making cleanup easier. My body and mind would be totally relaxed, and I would quickly drop off to sleep.

As I grow older, my libido decreases and my erections have become less firm, but I still look forward to a good masturbation session.