What a Great Country this Is!
Recently, as we were finishing up yet another hot/humid day and I still felt terrible, Liz and I had to go one of the local malls near her to change out a modem she was using.
Earlier in the day, I went to the grocery store and quite possibly ventured out with the least make up I have ever worn. I just said to "hell with it" tied my hair back applied a bit of eye make up and took off. More than likely, my attitude was the least feminine part about me. Just wanted the world to leave me alone. To my surprise, at the grocery, almost everyone did-except one young employee who always seems to appear out of nowhere - and speak to me. I am never aware enough of my immediate surroundings to know if she is the same person. Perhaps she has a transgender friend herself.
All that is cool enough to be sure, but then I have to factor in what I call the gender weather fronts we travel through. For example, we live closer into Cincinnati itself on the East side. For the most part, going from here to downtown where all the real trendy neighborhoods are-the overall LGBT atmosphere is decidedly more liberal. Very quickly, in a short distance though, the weather begins to change. Heading not so far out of town into Clermont County the LGBT vortex takes a deep dive to hell. You still can see a redneck or two with a Confederate flag hanging out of his pickup truck.
My "gender vortex" is actually in one of few remaining enclosed malls not too far away.
I do like to walk through that mall which sits on my demarcation point. The other evening, a teen aged girl who missed the Walmart across the street nearly was hit by a car looking at me. Once we were in the mall, a mother and a daughter from India I believe were very "bemused" by me.
Then, on the other hand, were the small groups of kids all dressed in black huddled around a kiosk who paid me no mind at all.
One way or another -I am always careful to stay in the "eye of the storm"
Earlier in the day, I went to the grocery store and quite possibly ventured out with the least make up I have ever worn. I just said to "hell with it" tied my hair back applied a bit of eye make up and took off. More than likely, my attitude was the least feminine part about me. Just wanted the world to leave me alone. To my surprise, at the grocery, almost everyone did-except one young employee who always seems to appear out of nowhere - and speak to me. I am never aware enough of my immediate surroundings to know if she is the same person. Perhaps she has a transgender friend herself.
All that is cool enough to be sure, but then I have to factor in what I call the gender weather fronts we travel through. For example, we live closer into Cincinnati itself on the East side. For the most part, going from here to downtown where all the real trendy neighborhoods are-the overall LGBT atmosphere is decidedly more liberal. Very quickly, in a short distance though, the weather begins to change. Heading not so far out of town into Clermont County the LGBT vortex takes a deep dive to hell. You still can see a redneck or two with a Confederate flag hanging out of his pickup truck.
My "gender vortex" is actually in one of few remaining enclosed malls not too far away.
I do like to walk through that mall which sits on my demarcation point. The other evening, a teen aged girl who missed the Walmart across the street nearly was hit by a car looking at me. Once we were in the mall, a mother and a daughter from India I believe were very "bemused" by me.
Then, on the other hand, were the small groups of kids all dressed in black huddled around a kiosk who paid me no mind at all.
One way or another -I am always careful to stay in the "eye of the storm"
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