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 of the 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 I suppose maybe I still am. All I will say is, it has come to the point where every few months I have got to get 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 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.

Lastly, I want to assure you that my lips did actually touch all of the cacti below. I don't play around! Enjoy! -Steve :)

Steve's CACTUS KISSING Pictures - Complied June 2005

	I kissed this cactus five years ago in 2000.
	I'm not sure what the name of this cactus is.
	A "walking stick" cactus in full bloom! :)
	Not a cactus kissing picture, but I wanted to show off a photo of me holding a ceramic saguaro at a Taco Time Restaurant in Delta, Colorado.
	My friend pulls out cactus thorns from my lips and mustache area after I kissed a mean ol' prickly pear! :(
	The funny thing is, once I started gaining a reputation for kissing cacti, others started to imitate me and sent me photos. My friend Denise posed (she didn't actually kiss it, she told me) like she was kissing a cactus in a southern California desert.
	My friend Beth in Michigan sent me this one, and no, she wasn't actually kissing it either. Sheeesh! What wimpy friends I have! :(
	Yikes! This cactus looks pretty rough! :p)
	One last photo! That's me kissing a miniature Christmas cactus!