Quite simply, our parties began with a skinny-dippin' party in our back yard swimming pool; the year was 1973.  We had just built our swimming pool, and our home was the party house of the neighborhood.  Swinging, as we came to know it, was not in style, yet.  We continued with the skinny-dippin' parties for the next several years, and gradually the parties took on an entirely different theme:  they began to go from skinny-dippin' outside in the pool to playing behind closed doors.  The street was beginning to look like a parking lot on Friday and Saturday nights.  We lived in an above average neighborhood, so the Porsche's,  Datsun Z 's , Lincoln limousines, and Caddies blended-in well. 

Every once in a while, a Santa Cruz Sheriffs Deputy would come to the door to inquire why all the cars were parked in front.  We would invite the deputy in, but we would also caution him that there may be other officers on the property, as invited party guests--there were never any drugs, children, or contraband.  More often than not , we were asked, by the deputy, how to get invited.  As a deputy was leaving one night, he said, "Oh, by the way, your next door neighbor called in the complaint--should I go next door and tell him to mind his own business?"

 We had one party that did sort-of get a little out of hand:  We had a small lake sail-boat, and we decided to float it in the pool, just for a prop.  One of us forgot to put the drain plug in the hull, and the boat sank.  It was hell getting the boat back out of the pool!

 That same party continues today, just in a different location.  Our parties are all "Invitation Only", and they are BYOWine, to share.  We have Hors d'oeuvre s (Costco's finest), pre-prepared Pizza, soft drinks, chips-dips-chains-whips, the usual  party fare.

Our Business Together:

NiteLife Productions is a film-production,   magazine, periodical, and cookbook-publishing organization. We are also a registered California Non-Profit Corporation,  OmniQuest Horizons, Inc., and a registered ULC org. #60429 Church of the NiteLife, we are also fully registered ministers.

Our Community Life together: 

We have been married since 1968, which is also when we began community volunteerism.   It began with Lee's introduction into the Jaycees by Dawn's Brother, Mike.  Our lives with the Jaycees spanned 20 years, and  Lee is now a JCI Senator.

California Jaycees and US Jaycees whetted our appetites to become community volunteers.  The seventies found us restoring and outfitting homes for the disabled, and Dawn also became involved in the Children's Home Society and in Halloran Hall, a group home for girls.  During the Holiday seasons, Lee would put on his best Santa suit and a pair of roller skates to portray Santa to disadvantaged and Foster children at the local Children's Christmas Festivals.  Lee would also do the same for the Senior Citizens' Christmas Banquet.  Even Lee's own Grandmother didn't recognize him at the banquet dressed as Santa!

In the 80's, we worked with the American Red Cross, the Kidney Foundation, the United Way, and several more volunteer organizations.  When asked why we do it, our answer was always, "Someone has to help".  Mind you, we also owned our own businesses at the same time, and our volunteerism was our way of paying back our community for supporting our businesses.

In the late 80's and into the 90's, our  America was faced with the AIDS crisis.  People all around us were dying-- yes, we were the "token" straight couple in the Gay community.  We had to help, but were not sure what we could do.  People began losing their jobs and were becoming homeless.  We were good at making money and talking to the right people to provide food, transportation, and, in some cases, a roof over the recently homeless members' heads.

 Our number one problem: people had no idea how AIDS was contracted.  Time to educate: you don't get AIDS from shaking hands and smiling.  We shook many hands, while trying to educate the powers that be, City Hall.  From organization of Christmas Tree lots,  to being involved in the "Wear A Red Ribbon" movemant.

At times, yes, we did ruffle a few feathers--can't please everyone.  Rather than going around certain city zoning laws, we became a  a registered non-profit educational organization, Church of the NiteLife.  We were always legal, and there were people coming to our dinners, wine-tastings, birthday parties, marriage/partner ceremonies, etc., that the neighbors, in their own minds, probably considered "strange".  We had straight, gay, cross-dressers, lesbians, and swingers, who enjoyed our gatherings several evenings a week.