KISS A CACTUS?! Steve in Colorado Explains This Activity!

Although I grew up in the urban metropolis of the New York City area in northern New Jersey, I always remembered having a fascination with the desert, the wide open spaces of the West and the unique beauty of cacti. For me, my soul has always had some kind of connection and lure to the mystique and wonders of the desert, and the cactus is its best symbol.

I honestly don't remember how the whole goofy process began when I started kissing cacti in my early 20's. I probably was seeking attention of some sort, and maybe I still am. All I will say is, it has come to the point where every few months I must capture a new photo of me kissing a cactus. ;)

People frequenlty ask me: Does it hurt? Heck yeah, it can really hurt sometimes! I once kissed a variation of a prickly pear and had literally hundreds of tiny thorns embedded in my lips, mustache area and forearm. While kissing that awful prickly pear, I was also grazing another cactus with my arm, but fortunately I had a friend help pull out all of the thorns on my face and arm. As for cacti with longer thorns, oh yes, they can definitely be dangerous as well.

Over the years, many friends have sent fake photos of them posing beside a cactus, but their lips never actually kiss it. What sissies! Be assured my lips truly touched every cacti and/or its thorns in the photos below. I don't play around!

-Steve :)
Twitter: @SteveGarufi

(Article updated in March 2010)

	Cactus Kissing Photo Gallery I kissed this large prickly pear cactus in 2000 at the Royal Gorge in Colorado.
	Giving a cactus kiss at a cactus shop in Manitou Springs, CO.
	I kissed a cactus to start the New Year (2008). I started it right!
	My friend Amanda pulls cactus thorns from my lips and mustache area after I kissed a mean ol' prickly pear in the California desert. We were somewhere east of Bakersfield in a remote area.
	A kiss of a cactus that looks pretty rough! :o)
	Kissing some kind a miniature cactus with Christmas decorations on it. This transpired during a late night walk titled Manitou Lights.
	I kissed this large golden barrel cactus in Tucson in January 2007. Things became nasty when I gave the cactus a hug. :(
	Kissing a large prickly pear cactus in bloom. :)
Two Fake Cactus Kissing Photos	As I gained a reputation for this activity, occasionally friends send me photos of them kissing cacti. But in almost all cases, my friends didn't actually have the guts to kiss the cactus, lips to thorns. Adjacent are two photos of my friends Denise (top) and Beth (second) coming oh so close, but not actually kissing them. NOTE: My apologies that neither image is available in a larger size. I have no idea how I lost them.

Videos - Kissing A Cactus I kissed a cactus in Garden of the Gods, located in Colorado Springs, CO. (September 2005)

At 2:13 in the video, I bring up the topic of kissing a cactus near the Oklahoma High Point and I follow through with it! :)