Felicia Levine

A visit to Ralph Matthews' dingy, cluttered backyard is like stumbling onto an old set from Sanford & Son. You have to be nimble to negotiate your way around the busted, black '37 Ford, the scattered machine parts, the buckets and containers that are home to a family of stray...

"Welcome to Pervertibles," says teacher and sadomasochist Drake Ferguson, who on this scorching October morning in Fort Lauderdale wears tiny, fatigue-style shorts and a black tank top that display his prodigious belly. "After this class, you'll never look at Home Depot or the Dollar Store the same way again." He...

They meet at a modest Unitarian church tucked away on a Fort Lauderdale side street. Their conversation sounds like that of any PTA committee or female support group. Ladies' laughter and gossip flood the tiny lobby, and the aromas of a potluck supper beckon in an adjacent meeting room. You...