Article: male room; Learning experience, with massage oil; Our writer gets his first professional massage and finds out about protocol, practices and letting go.(SIGNATURE)

Byline: Dan Wascoe; Staff Writer

In 61 years, I've given more than my share of massages.

But in less than an hour in the mountains near Santa Fe, N.M., a professional masseuse made up for those unrequited rubs.

She did it in a warm, wood-paneled room with soft, indirect lighting and calming New Age-style music. She did it with strong but gentle hands slathered in ointment and oil. She did it by tactfully shifting sheets and towels as she stroked and kneaded one body part after another. And she worked mostly without words.

This was my first paid-for body work not involving a wounded automobile. I'd never considered a professional massage ...

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