Fourth of July

I wish I could write a flowery post about what the Fourth of July, or Independence Day should mean to all of us Americans.

I am proud to have a distant relative who fought in the Revolutionary War. I often wonder what he would think of all the contortions our country is going through now.

Under the guise of "fake news" and a worn out amendment, special interests and crooked politicos have managed to take over our country. Over the years too, we have managed to neglect our educational institutions so much, it has "dumbed" down our country so far, that in breeding seems like a real possibility in some groups.

For some reason, I still know a few transgender people who support a president hell bent on taking away what rights they still have. Plus, just wait, as soon as the leader appoints another conservative to the Supreme Court, and LGBT rights come under fire, just wait and see how fast the gays and lesbians come looking for our trans support again.

I also don't know what to say about all the mass shootings which take place, almost all at the hands of white males. Even still, we blame immigrants for the violence. As we consider immigration too, who would have ever thought our country would be the one caging children. Just consider for a moment what the desperate people looking for asylum on our borders were running from.

It seems our country has taken it's lead from a leader who has no compassion or morals and is under indictment at the highest levels.

This Independence Day, it's time to seriously consider what we have to do to reclaim what made the US the country it was. And, not the one known for slavery and genocide of it's native citizens.

Party Number Two

We awoke fairly early to eat at the free hotel breakfast service before heading back to our room for a couple of hours before we set off in the 90 degree (F) heat. For once, the eggs weren't green and rubbery and the sausage was fresh...unless I was really hungry.

Departure time was twelve noon and we had about four and a half hours to kill before the evening picnic/party. First of all I decided to make the thirty mile round trip to Springfield to check on the property I still own. From there we headed back to the Dayton, Ohio area and had an early lunch at one of the first places I went as a cross dresser and was the place I decided I was transgender. It was there I decided to go on HRT and start my Mtf gender transition. I was wearing my "stars and stripes" top and was feeling pretty secure about myself following the real good day, the day before. Our server was busy, so she didn't seem to know or care about me one way or another. Except I was paying.

From there, we went to one of my least favorite places, a mall. This particular mall brought back quite a few bad memories from my cross dressing past and my back was starting to bother me. My partner Liz though was able to find some elaborate hair tie backs in a store which even had a transgender themed t-shirt. They also had a very androgynous employee who was very friendly. We wasted some time in the food court to let my back recover and it was time to head back out into the heat which was made worse by a passing thunderstorm.

The next stop was back into the cool of a big grocery store to pick up supplies for the party and then try to fix our makeup before we headed out.

Finally, we made it to the party and received a warm greeting from all who were there. It was raining again, so we had to hang out inside until it stopped. When it did, it turned out to be a pleasant evening.

I had a very good time and was only mis-gendered once.

From there, we made the hour and a half trip back to Cincinnati and the party weekend was over.

Party Number One

The first party we went to this weekend turned out to be a fantastic affair. We were able to get an early enough start to stop off at one of the "New Age" shops in Yellow Springs we like so much. Little did I know, it was also Pride Day in the village, so there were plenty of LGBT Pride flags to go around. Plus, while we were at the shop, we were able to drop off brochures for the Cincinnati Witches Ball in October.

I bought a pair of "peace symbol" earrings in the shop and had an affirming chat with her. No one else even gave me a glance except one woman who smiled. As we had discussed in depth here in Cyrsti's Condo, it is not unusual for women to smile at each other, so I don't know if the transgender dynamic had anything to do with it or not.

Saturday was one of those days when I felt very secure of myself, even with the temperatures hovering into the nineties. Confidence is always the best accessory!

From the village, we headed about ten miles up the road and checked into our hotel room, which had a great air conditioner. Party time was later in the day, so we had a chance to relax before we fixed up our make up and headed out. I wore the black and cream embroidered tank top I wore to Cincinnati Pride with a pair of Jeggings for comfort.

Seeing my old friends at the party was fun! We haven't seen each other for about three years. Everyone else in the group were very accepting too and no one mis gendered me. At least internally I was able to drop the transgender part of me and just be me.

All too quickly, they lit off their fireworks and it was time to make the journey back in town to our hotel room.

It was a remarkable day!