"Lots O Comments" concerning the Phil Donahue/Tri Ess?/JoAnn Roberts post.Francine's allows me to answer a good question:
"Thanks for posting this. I remember those days and later when the internet helped us all realize we were not alone. We were not crazy. By the way, How do you pronounce your first name? the spelling is different, so I have trouble."
Francine, my name is pronounced the same as "Kristi", or Christy. I just wanted to add a little "pizzazz" to it!
Paula's commented: "Yes in some ways we have come a long way, in others nothing has changed at all" Unfortunately, Paula, that is true but that show to me was a great example of the attitudes towards us "back in the day" where I lived. Speaking only from my perspective. I don't see that kind of ignorance and dislike anymore, thank goodness!
Finally, Mandy commented "Interestingly, I remember seeing that Donahue show when it was aired "back in the day." And, the "girl inside" has been peeking out of the closet ever since..." Mandy, I believe you speak for many here in Cyrsti's Condo and thanks for commenting!
I have commented before I'm partial to Donahue because he got his talk show start on a local TV station close to where I live (Dayton, Ohio). I actually went to one of his shows in Dayton concerning the Vietnam War back in the late 1960's before he went national in Chicago.
Later on, one of Phil's shows focused on a former "biker" from Middletown, Ohio who basically came home, told his wife he wanted to be a woman so he cut his beard and off they went to K-Mart for makeup. She was one of the first transsexual guests I remember him having and of course she was much different than the Tri-Ess cross dressers.
I'm trying to find the video clip of her but basically she transitioned into a relatively shy long blond haired "good ol girl" which are so prevalent in my part of the world. The word was, she used to frequent a gay bar in Monroe, Ohio which I had been to a couple of times but I never saw her.
Another episode which stands out in my mind is this interview with an 18 year old Angie Roberts who now claims to go by Angelina Roberts:
