Leaving Recon

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I’ve had a profile on recon.com since 2005, mostly to protect the use of my screen name, Booted Harleydude.

I never used it to find other men or arrange hook-ups or dates. I had been happily married (or partnered) since 1993 and always remained monogamous.

Other than preserving my screen name, I do not really know why I kept my profile on recon.com.

After receiving another delinquency notice for not logging on for months, I visited the site to check in on June 10, 2026.

I was appalled at the redesign. It is absolutely awful. It is not intuitive and what’s worse for me, is that when I logged on, it demanded to know my location so it could match me with other men.

No! I don’t want that.

Without much regret, I will delete my profile in about a month so the few friends I have connected with there may see my notice that I intend to drop off Recon and find me another way (I prefer old-fashioned email since I don’t text).

Why do kids these days have to do such intense redesigns? What wasn’t broken didn’t need fixing.

Old senior leathermen have little patience for that crap. Plus, I live in Canada about a half-year, so I have a different life now. Time to move on from my past.

Legacy Website

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Back in 2005 when my husband (then partner) expressed anger with me when I tripped over a pair of boots in our bedroom and said, “you don’t even know how many boots you have,” that led me to learning “old-school” HTML coding and building my own website bootedman.com.

I began to catalog my entire boot collection. I began with my cowboy boots, then added my motorcycle boots, then added my work boots, and finished off the boots with displaying my dress boots.

Later, I added my biker gear and fetish leather gear.

Later still and as interests and fetishes changed, I added my dress shoe collection and men’s business suits.

Well, unfortunately…
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Re-Engagement with this blog

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I took a long break from updating this blog. Sorry about that… I ran out of new things to say. The content about my life as a confident gay man remains pretty much evergreen.

I appreciate that some men have told me that they have found the years of content on this blog helpful, interesting, and guiding to their own lives. That means a lot to me!

Also since the chaos that has befallen the once-united states, I have “cut the cord” and no longer engage much on the web or watch television. (Also, I still refuse to have a smartphone, so I am even more disconnected than the average guy.)

So what’s new?
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Winter 2024/2025 Update

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Hey there… long time since I’ve written a blog here. I appreciate encouragement from a loyal long-time reader to write an update.

Since I last posted, I began enjoying being a citizen of Canada.

Immediately on hearing the tragic results of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, I went back to my Canadian home in Southern Ontario to figure out next steps in my life.

Since I am retired, I can travel freely and stay as long as I want outside the oUS (once-united states.) I say “once” because I clearly remember in my younger days, the U.S. was united, or more united, than it became during the first term of the self-centered egomaniac asshat who got re-elected when the oUS lost its ever-lovin’ mind on November 5, 2024.

Now, division, extreme hatefulness, and negativity rule the day.

I escaped to a country that is…
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My Authentic Leather Self

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I received a message recently from someone who told me that he and a family member have been following this blog for a long time, and said,

I wanted to reach out to let you know how much I appreciate your blog and the way you embrace and celebrate leather culture. Your passion for wearing leather with pride and purpose has been truly inspiring to me.

I am grateful for the way your writing has helped us bond and discuss various topics related to kink, fetish and leather in a more open and understanding way.

Thank you for the work you do and for being such a positive role model. It means a lot to both of us.

Wow… I honestly had no idea of the impact this lil’ ol’ blog could have. While I do not think of myself as a typical example of a gay Leatherman, I guess I have shared enough about my fetish interests that it has had some impact.

I titled this post “my authentic leather self” to describe how I have evolved to…
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Leather Weather 2024

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Finally… the intense summer heat has broken. Time to hang up the suits and get my gear on!

I had a gift certificate from Schott Bros leather that was going to expire. During the hottest week of July, I ordered a new Schott Leather Trucker Jacket.

This jacket is thick, durable, and exceptionally well-made. Their marketing statement says it is lightweight enough to wear all year. No… not by a long-shot. This jacket is heavy… almost as heavy as my Schott Perfecto motorcycle jacket.

But man, it fits …
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Where The Heck Have I Been?

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I really hate letting this blog go sallow. Here it is July 2024, and the last time I posted was in April.

So where have I been?

Contrary to perceptions you may have that I have fallen off the planet, I have just been busy doing other things.

In May I traveled to Hawaii for 10 days (for an advisory committee meeting!) I just returned home after almost a month in Canada (for play!)

I do appreciate receiving messages from people who have read deep within this blog where I …
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Awesome Road Trip

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North America experienced a total solar eclipse on Monday 8 April, 2024.

I was considering flying somewhere to see full totality, but on advice from pros I trust, I decided not to pay for an airline ticket, hotel rooms, and so forth in case cloud cover made it a bust.

However, a close friend is such an eclipse enthusiast, we decided to wait until the Friday before to review weather information. We spoke that morning and decided it looked potentially good enough to take a road trip toward Ohio or Indiana.

My buddy picked me up on Sunday morning, and we…
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