The Primrose, May 2010
Hello dear readers! Happy May! Be All is almost here, are you ready? I am very excited since it gives me the chance to be femme and fun and flirtatious for a whole week! Oh boy!
*****
You may have noticed that I have devoted a goodly portion of my recent columns to what I will now call “The Tranization of Sarah” (pretty good huh, I just made that up). Now it is almost certain that there are additional tortures that I could force upon Sarah (the always gorgeous Jill suggested a tour of the body scanners at O’Hare), but by now, there really is not much left to put her through that would not also be new for me (except the charming visit to the DMV). Since you may be tired of hearing about Sarah and her exploits (or being exploited), I shall henceforth refrain from mentioning Sarah, even though Sarah is my very good friend, and a great deal of fun to spend time with. OK? No more Sarah.
*****
So last Friday, I arranged to go out with a girlfriend. Let me call her, I dunno, how about “S” (tee hee). Anyway, I had been off on vacation (no heel time for 10 days), and of course things piled up at work (yuch) while I was gone so the week was awful, plus I had to take a certification exam (MCSE #5 of 7 for you other t-nerds) on Friday. All in all, I figured I needed to party a bit. S and I decided that we should start off in somewhat modest attire so that we could go out for dinner without having someone call the fashion police, and later we would switch to more “frisky” looks.
Dinner was at TGI Fridays, and it seemed like every family in town had decided to take the kids out for dinner that night. There was a toddler in a high chair just across the aisle from us. He seemed to spend a lot of time staring at me, almost like he was trying to figure it out. “Dad, there is something about that lady . . . “ Taking my usual high road, I ignored everyone else in the room (only fair, since they were ignoring us too) and concentrated on making the evening fun for our server. She was obviously a bit nervous and uncertain at the beginning, but she got immediate style points for call us “ladies” in a friendly way. I broke the ice by ordering the fun
Cosmopolitan that they serve over cotton candy. It is a bit sweeter than the usual Cosmo, but very tasty. By the time we paid our bill and departed, our server probably didn’t understand us any better than she did when we walked in, but she knew we were friendly and fun to be around!
Our next stop was a return to The Melting Pot. This time our intention was to sample the bar, and to say hello to Nina, the wonderful, delightful, gorgeous, ball-of-fire hostess that we met at dinner last month. It happened that Nina had just ended her shift, and she was able to sit with us at the bar, chat, and drink to happiness and being ourselves.
When Nina had to head for home, we decided it was time for us to switch from modest to frisky. In the semi-privacy of the car, I removed the almost-knee length skirt that I was wearing over an almost-thigh length dress. S switched from a below the knee number to her black leather miniskirt. Our destination? Hunters.
I know, I know. Their ID policy is blatantly discriminatory, and I have avoided the place for over a year. But S had never been to Hunters, and it is a part of the local t-culture. I did make one tactical error. When IDs were requested at the door, I didn’t think to show my drivers license. You know, the one with the photo of my evil twin. Instead, I proudly presented my state ID with my happy femme self grinning at the world. Of course that means I have no idea whether I would have been admited with the dreaded “photo and presentation don’t match” conundrum. Oh, S had no problem with her ID. I guess it helps to have long hair.
We encountered several other girls while we soaked up the
Hunters ambiance. Erica Maurizio looked totally regal from her position at the corner of the bar. Roxy Rockefeller swept into the room with a group, but the music by that time was too loud for introductions. And that brings a question to mind. Why is it that club music never stops? Am I the only one that needs a break of some kind between dances? Another question that we considered, but were unable to really answer, is about the critical mass necessary for dancing to begin on the dance floor. As the number of people around the dance floor increases, spontaneous little dances begin to occur on the edges, and then at some undefined moment, the dance floor almost magically fills up. Of course we did not want to impact our study, so we waited until the floor was busy before we cut loose ourselves.
*****
The April T-party at Big Shot was great. There were quite a few members of the community on hand, but it was the Muggles that made the evening particularly memorable. I must admit that the first time S mentioned “Muggles”, I had a totally uncomprehending (read stupid) expression on my face. My problem is that I am not a follower of Harry Potter. So, for those as ignorant as I was, a Muggle in the Harry Potter world is a person without magical abilities. An ordinary person who is not a wizard or a witch. And now, in our world, a Muggle is a person without our magical gifts. The poor dears!
It happened that we were sharing Big Shot with a group of 15 (or so) ladies who were celebrating birthdays. We found out later that this group was made up of friends who had bonded over the years as they all raised families, and they get together to celebrate their birthdays and have fun. I regret that I am uncertain about the names of this month’s birthday girls, but I think it was Lisa and Fran. Anyway, Lisa in particular was making the rounds of Big Shot and she had been chatting with some of our group, asking questions and getting acquainted. We noticed that most of their group was remaining bunched together (as was our group actually). So, S and Gail and I decided to take our party to them. We split up and sat down amongst the group and made our individual contributions to Muggle Outreach. Great fun, really very touching, and a few more friends for the community.
Later, I was approached by a very attractive lady. Her name was Helen, and she said that it was her husband’s birthday, and would I be willing to let her take a picture of me with her husband. Honey, I am a t-girl. I LOVE to have my picture taken! She introduced me to Jerry, the birthday boy who turned 44 that day. He was a very nice man who seemed a bit confused about the insertion of this t-person into the romantic birthday evening with his lovely wife, but he was most gracious. I posed with Larry, and even gave him a peck on the cheek. Alas, the lighting was insufficient for Helen’s cell phone camera, so I enlisted the services of S and her enhanced megapixel wonder. S quickly turned her camera over to Helen and joined me to become a pair of bookends around the birthday boy. We draped ourselves over him on each side, and I am certain Larry will have a lot of explaining to do if those photos come into the hands of his friends.
Photos completed, S and I sat down at the table with Helen and Larry with the intention of collecting an email address for sending of the photos. But then we failed to leave. Helen asked some of the Muggle questions, but then she ended up giving me some hair and makeup suggestions. While Larry and S were chatting, she told him that they would be most welcome to join us for next month’s T-party, but that he would be required to dress properly. It turned out that he does enjoy costumes at Halloween, but he has not tried femme attire. At least not yet!
Eventually Helen and Larry had to go home to collect their 8-month old daughter from her Grandmother. Hugs exchanged all around. More friends for the community.
Before the chairs were even cold, a lively and adorable lassie swooped in and introduced herself as Cate. She quickly explained that her partner Ally is transgendered. “She is a man trapped in a woman’s body. She sees herself as male, but she doesn’t want to change anything.” Only 30 seconds into the conversation and my proper pronoun detector was beeping furiously. I tried to explain my own feelings about desiring acceptance as I present myself, and I could not begin to understand the Ally that Cate was describing. A bit later I was able to talk to Ally about my confusion. As I suspected, his desire was to present as male, and I was grateful that order had returned to the universe. Like Cate, he was a totally delightful person who had a preference for being male, but was not too hung up about how he was perceived or addressed. A very good attitude indeed!
*****
So there you have it. Another column completed, and having spent a few minutes reading it, you are undoubtedly wondering how you can get back those wasted minutes. Now let me finish up with a couple of plugs.
First: Be sure to get registered for Be All! Come for the whole week! If you can’t do that, come for a few days. If you can’t do that, come for a day or an evening.
Second: In case you are not aware, Temptations is back. Not only that, they are looking for us. They are talking about designating a couple of nights as t-nights at Temptations. Next Tuesday, April 27, stop in and have dinner and say hello at the CGS social, then head over to Temptations and join the t-group. I understand (unoffically) that the owner just might be buying drinks for the girls that show up.
*****
One more thought to end my words for this month (and to use up my allotted word count). I really do have a wonderful time interacting with people (Muggles if you will) when we are out and about. I am not in a place where I feel I can be involved in the important legislative campaigns and working to support the effort to ensure rights for all members of the community. But perhaps this is my small way of trying to bring about change, one person at a time. Besides, it is fun! Give it a try, you might like it!
Hugs,Greer
*****
Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Please send to me at greercd@hotmail.com.
*****
You may have noticed that I have devoted a goodly portion of my recent columns to what I will now call “The Tranization of Sarah” (pretty good huh, I just made that up). Now it is almost certain that there are additional tortures that I could force upon Sarah (the always gorgeous Jill suggested a tour of the body scanners at O’Hare), but by now, there really is not much left to put her through that would not also be new for me (except the charming visit to the DMV). Since you may be tired of hearing about Sarah and her exploits (or being exploited), I shall henceforth refrain from mentioning Sarah, even though Sarah is my very good friend, and a great deal of fun to spend time with. OK? No more Sarah.
*****
So last Friday, I arranged to go out with a girlfriend. Let me call her, I dunno, how about “S” (tee hee). Anyway, I had been off on vacation (no heel time for 10 days), and of course things piled up at work (yuch) while I was gone so the week was awful, plus I had to take a certification exam (MCSE #5 of 7 for you other t-nerds) on Friday. All in all, I figured I needed to party a bit. S and I decided that we should start off in somewhat modest attire so that we could go out for dinner without having someone call the fashion police, and later we would switch to more “frisky” looks.
Dinner was at TGI Fridays, and it seemed like every family in town had decided to take the kids out for dinner that night. There was a toddler in a high chair just across the aisle from us. He seemed to spend a lot of time staring at me, almost like he was trying to figure it out. “Dad, there is something about that lady . . . “ Taking my usual high road, I ignored everyone else in the room (only fair, since they were ignoring us too) and concentrated on making the evening fun for our server. She was obviously a bit nervous and uncertain at the beginning, but she got immediate style points for call us “ladies” in a friendly way. I broke the ice by ordering the fun
Cosmopolitan that they serve over cotton candy. It is a bit sweeter than the usual Cosmo, but very tasty. By the time we paid our bill and departed, our server probably didn’t understand us any better than she did when we walked in, but she knew we were friendly and fun to be around!Our next stop was a return to The Melting Pot. This time our intention was to sample the bar, and to say hello to Nina, the wonderful, delightful, gorgeous, ball-of-fire hostess that we met at dinner last month. It happened that Nina had just ended her shift, and she was able to sit with us at the bar, chat, and drink to happiness and being ourselves.
When Nina had to head for home, we decided it was time for us to switch from modest to frisky. In the semi-privacy of the car, I removed the almost-knee length skirt that I was wearing over an almost-thigh length dress. S switched from a below the knee number to her black leather miniskirt. Our destination? Hunters.
I know, I know. Their ID policy is blatantly discriminatory, and I have avoided the place for over a year. But S had never been to Hunters, and it is a part of the local t-culture. I did make one tactical error. When IDs were requested at the door, I didn’t think to show my drivers license. You know, the one with the photo of my evil twin. Instead, I proudly presented my state ID with my happy femme self grinning at the world. Of course that means I have no idea whether I would have been admited with the dreaded “photo and presentation don’t match” conundrum. Oh, S had no problem with her ID. I guess it helps to have long hair.We encountered several other girls while we soaked up the
Hunters ambiance. Erica Maurizio looked totally regal from her position at the corner of the bar. Roxy Rockefeller swept into the room with a group, but the music by that time was too loud for introductions. And that brings a question to mind. Why is it that club music never stops? Am I the only one that needs a break of some kind between dances? Another question that we considered, but were unable to really answer, is about the critical mass necessary for dancing to begin on the dance floor. As the number of people around the dance floor increases, spontaneous little dances begin to occur on the edges, and then at some undefined moment, the dance floor almost magically fills up. Of course we did not want to impact our study, so we waited until the floor was busy before we cut loose ourselves.*****
The April T-party at Big Shot was great. There were quite a few members of the community on hand, but it was the Muggles that made the evening particularly memorable. I must admit that the first time S mentioned “Muggles”, I had a totally uncomprehending (read stupid) expression on my face. My problem is that I am not a follower of Harry Potter. So, for those as ignorant as I was, a Muggle in the Harry Potter world is a person without magical abilities. An ordinary person who is not a wizard or a witch. And now, in our world, a Muggle is a person without our magical gifts. The poor dears!
It happened that we were sharing Big Shot with a group of 15 (or so) ladies who were celebrating birthdays. We found out later that this group was made up of friends who had bonded over the years as they all raised families, and they get together to celebrate their birthdays and have fun. I regret that I am uncertain about the names of this month’s birthday girls, but I think it was Lisa and Fran. Anyway, Lisa in particular was making the rounds of Big Shot and she had been chatting with some of our group, asking questions and getting acquainted. We noticed that most of their group was remaining bunched together (as was our group actually). So, S and Gail and I decided to take our party to them. We split up and sat down amongst the group and made our individual contributions to Muggle Outreach. Great fun, really very touching, and a few more friends for the community.
Later, I was approached by a very attractive lady. Her name was Helen, and she said that it was her husband’s birthday, and would I be willing to let her take a picture of me with her husband. Honey, I am a t-girl. I LOVE to have my picture taken! She introduced me to Jerry, the birthday boy who turned 44 that day. He was a very nice man who seemed a bit confused about the insertion of this t-person into the romantic birthday evening with his lovely wife, but he was most gracious. I posed with Larry, and even gave him a peck on the cheek. Alas, the lighting was insufficient for Helen’s cell phone camera, so I enlisted the services of S and her enhanced megapixel wonder. S quickly turned her camera over to Helen and joined me to become a pair of bookends around the birthday boy. We draped ourselves over him on each side, and I am certain Larry will have a lot of explaining to do if those photos come into the hands of his friends.
Photos completed, S and I sat down at the table with Helen and Larry with the intention of collecting an email address for sending of the photos. But then we failed to leave. Helen asked some of the Muggle questions, but then she ended up giving me some hair and makeup suggestions. While Larry and S were chatting, she told him that they would be most welcome to join us for next month’s T-party, but that he would be required to dress properly. It turned out that he does enjoy costumes at Halloween, but he has not tried femme attire. At least not yet!
Eventually Helen and Larry had to go home to collect their 8-month old daughter from her Grandmother. Hugs exchanged all around. More friends for the community.
Before the chairs were even cold, a lively and adorable lassie swooped in and introduced herself as Cate. She quickly explained that her partner Ally is transgendered. “She is a man trapped in a woman’s body. She sees herself as male, but she doesn’t want to change anything.” Only 30 seconds into the conversation and my proper pronoun detector was beeping furiously. I tried to explain my own feelings about desiring acceptance as I present myself, and I could not begin to understand the Ally that Cate was describing. A bit later I was able to talk to Ally about my confusion. As I suspected, his desire was to present as male, and I was grateful that order had returned to the universe. Like Cate, he was a totally delightful person who had a preference for being male, but was not too hung up about how he was perceived or addressed. A very good attitude indeed!
*****
So there you have it. Another column completed, and having spent a few minutes reading it, you are undoubtedly wondering how you can get back those wasted minutes. Now let me finish up with a couple of plugs.
First: Be sure to get registered for Be All! Come for the whole week! If you can’t do that, come for a few days. If you can’t do that, come for a day or an evening.
Second: In case you are not aware, Temptations is back. Not only that, they are looking for us. They are talking about designating a couple of nights as t-nights at Temptations. Next Tuesday, April 27, stop in and have dinner and say hello at the CGS social, then head over to Temptations and join the t-group. I understand (unoffically) that the owner just might be buying drinks for the girls that show up.
*****
One more thought to end my words for this month (and to use up my allotted word count). I really do have a wonderful time interacting with people (Muggles if you will) when we are out and about. I am not in a place where I feel I can be involved in the important legislative campaigns and working to support the effort to ensure rights for all members of the community. But perhaps this is my small way of trying to bring about change, one person at a time. Besides, it is fun! Give it a try, you might like it!
Hugs,Greer
*****
Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Please send to me at greercd@hotmail.com.
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