After my military time in Vietnam and my experiences with flying small aircraft doing leaflet drops I was hooked on flying. I got my license and acquired a 1947 Stinson Voyager, a great old airplane. In the summer of 1969 I decided to build some serious time by flying from my home in Massachusetts to California. It was a great adventure.

It was on that trip I had my first colonic irrigation at a health club in Los Angeles. The equipment was an ancient Coombs machine, and the male operator seemed like there were other things he would rather be doing. He didn’t even position me to be able to see the viewing tube. While the entire experience was rather sterile I did enjoy the sensation.

I had known about colonic clinics in Boston for yours, when I was a kid I had seen them in the Boston Yellow Pages. I liked to look through when I visited my paternal grandparents. I don’t know how I stumbled on to that heading, but I do remember that some clinics offered both colonics and enemas.

For reasons I don’t quite understand I was never able to get up the courage to make an appointment, although I had called a few times. I guess being so far away in Los Angeles just felt comfortable for me.

The rather unexciting colonic was stimulating enough that I wanted another, so after some hesitation I chose a woman who had a clinic right near Kenmore Square. Her name was Mildred, and I expect some that are reading this have been to see her. I went to her for about 10 years until she retired, having to give up her business because she was pressured out of business by the Massachusetts health commission. Now colonics in Massachusetts can only be administered if a physician oversees the clinic.

My first trip to Mildred was a mixture of excitement and apprehension; at this point I wasn’t really comfortable with my love of enemas. I was probably pretty stressed which may account for what happened at the session.

My appointment was for 2PM, and I arrived a bit early. While I was in the waiting room her previous client, a well-known restaurateur was leaving. This guy was a rather unattractive gentleman who probably weighed between 400 and 500 lbs! This may have further caused further apprehension, and by the time I was called in I was pretty nervous.

I guess I can best describe Mildred as grandmotherly, a very nice woman. She gave me a jock strap and told me to strip to my undershirt and put it on. I went into the bathroom to do this while she got things ready. The clinic was three rooms, a waiting room, the bathroom and the clinic room. There were shelves in the bathroom where Mildred kept clean linens and something that peaked my interest, several boxes containing different syringes as well as some more exotic looking nozzles.

The main clinic room had a reclining table for colonics and another exam type table with an IV stand next to it. On the IV stand was a typical 2-quart red bag and hose with a black enema nozzle. The colonic equipment was very simple, a stainless steel container hung on the wall that looked like it held about 2 gallons, coming from it was a gum rubber hose connected to a nozzle with a valve. Another much larger hose with a short section of clear glass ran to the plumbing through nothing more than a trap like you find under a sink.

Mildred had me lie on the table on my back, much as a woman would be placed in stirrups. She then got me in a comfortable position and massaged my belly a bit telling me to relax. She put on a glove and lubed her finger, then proceeded to lube me and do a brief rectal exam. I had decided to hold back, because I already knew I liked an enema better if I already felt full. Mildred noted this and suggested I might be a bit constipated.

Mildred then inserted the nozzle. It felt great being much larger than an enema or douche nozzle. She also noted that since I was a bit constipated that she would ad some Irragol to the water. Irragol was a product that was available at one time for douches and enemas, it said on the box, “the powder of elegance for quality irrigations.” The box said it could be used for both douches and enemas. Last time I was able to obtain Irragol was about 1972.

Mildred mixed this with the water already in the large stainless container. Then she started the flow. She was putting in small amounts of the solution as she explained that she wanted to “get the hard mass out.” It felt very good as I felt my rectum expand and the chunks break free. Once my rectum was clear she started to fill me more and more.

In those days I could take two quarts easily, but I don’t know if it was the tension or something else, but I could only seem to take enough to fill me to the sigmoid flexure. Mildred just couldn’t seem to get the water any higher. Even though I tried to relax and help I couldn’t seem to handle more than a quart. After several tries Mildred she was going to fill me and remove the nozzle, and that I should go to the toilet and try to expel, that maybe that would break it loose.

I sat on the toiled and exploded, but little more than clear water came out. Mildred looked in on me, and I told her what was happening. To my surprise and joy Mildred said, “I think I should give you an enema with a colon tube, I can work the tube way up inside and I think I can loosen the blockage.”

I was out of the bathroom and on the “enema table” as fast as I could. Mildred then showed me several colon tubes, from small up to what she described as a 38 French. She asked if I thought I could take the large tube all right, and I immediately agreed to try. I had colon tubes at home, but my largest was a 32 French. She had me on my left side, and lubed both me and the tube very well. Now I was used to my 32 french just going in and curling up, so I wondered what was going to happen.

Mildred put the tube in and started the flow, just as I started to feel it she stopped and advanced the tube. She kept doing this, flow and advance until I could feel the hose in the sigmoid. This is as far as I had ever gotten a tube, and I didn’t expect much more. Mildred then used an alternated twisting and pushing motion, and to my surprise I felt the tube break free and start around the turn. She then used a slow back and forth motion and I felt the tube advance further.

Even though she was way inside all of a sudden I’m full again, and desperate to expel. I can see there in just over a quart in me and I know I should be able to take the bag and a little more. I told Mildred I just had to go, and even though we tried, that was it. She removed the tube and I ran for the toilet. Again, not much more than water with a bit of brown tinge at the end.

Back on the table the next attempt went even worse, she barely had the tube in when I had to expel. Again, clear water came out.

Again I was back on the table with the determination I was going to take the entire bag. With much gritting of teeth I held on, and I am as I finally saw the bag drain Mildred announced she had the entire tube in me. I could feel the tube move across, and I’m pretty sure I could tell the exact moment the tube when past the large bolus of stool that had things blocked. This time I even held it a while before exploding on the toilet.

After the first few gushes I felt the large chuck come flying out. What I think had happened is the very firm feces in my rectum had been compressed into a hard ball and then the water had floated it back in my colon until it had compacted against the rest of the contents. It was a super feeling.

When I came out the bag was full again, and Mildred repeated the process, long before the tube was all the way in the bag had emptied and Mildred anted to know if I though I could take more, I assured her I could. So using a pitcher already standing by, she added another quart or so to the bag. I took quite a bit of solution before I had to go. This might not have been the most I had ever taken but it was a lot.

I expelled, and my hour was up. At Mildred’s suggestion I made another appointment for two days later. By this time her next client was in the waiting room, a very attractive brunette in her early 30’s. While Mildred prepared for her we had an interesting conversation about the health benefits of colonics.

I continued to see Mildred twice a week every other week until I changed jobs and moved from the area. I would travel back to Boston every few months for Mildred’s colonics and enemas until she was closed down in about 1977. I never found another person as skilled with a colon tube until I met Valarie at Grande Dames in Los Angeles in 1991.