by Stephen D. Wilson

Created on: May 03, 2008

Yes, Yes, and why not!

Now that you may have an idea on what my answer is, let me explain it. As a boy my mother and I moved very frequently, not because we were homeless or that she was a prostitute. We moved to be safe, this was before many of the domestic violence laws, but that is another story. At one point my mother worked for a hotel in Reno, NV. my home for many years. The name of the hotel was The Overland Hotel and Casino. It was a very nice place, one that you would think an old time western movie hotel would be like. Mom was a housekeeper, the were maids back then. She could not afford a babysitter for me, so she had to rely on others for help.

The one person that helped my mother's name was Bessie, a very nice looking, black lady that allowed me to stay in her room (at The Overland) until Mom got off work. Bessie was a prostitute. She never allowed her profession to enter our time together, and I was only vaguely aware of what a prostitute was, I was all of 10 at the time.

I don't know why she became a hooker, I never thought to ask. I did see the after effects of what her "man" did to her when she didn't make enough. I saw the swollen lips, the bruised eyes and the broken spirit of a very good natured person, doing the only thing she could to earn a meager living. There wasn't any protection for her, no one dared to step in front of the pimp that beat her.

Bessie and I had a great relationship, she would care for me and teach me some of what the street could do to a person, I in turn, taught her to read and write. I also was the only male in her life that wanted nothing more than her maternal love. I loved being with her. Then one day, this bright light was dimmed forever. Her pimp killed her, she told him she wanted out, he let her out, his way.

Many years later, I was a cab driver in that very town. I learned that prostitution was and is legal in Storey County, Nevada. Reno is located in Storey County's neighboring county, Washoe. I was fortunate enough to be able to make a good living, and had a regular clientele that went out to the brothel. I also became a driver for some of the women that worked there.
The difference of what Bessie was compared to what the ladies that were working at Mustang Ranch, is like the difference between water and outer space.

Where Bessie had no protection, these ladies had enough to intimidate any man that walked in there. To get in you had to ring a buzzer that was on the outside of a 10 foot rod iron fence that encircled

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