What Is Courage?

Going back to my last post on the KKK in Alabama, it's worth noting how far the word courage has come and the potential it has to move forward past the hate and ignorance in any form. Sometimes though you have to look at the big picture.

An example is my Grandma who passed away in her 90's -in the 1970's- used to tell us stories about going to Klan meetings in horse drawn wagons. My Dad was the youngest of three brothers and one sister and even though he talked a good bigotry game, was one of the first bankers in the area to loan money to black businessmen.

Then there is my brother and I. As you regulars know, we had a blow out during the holidays last year, when he didn't have the guts to stand up for me to his wife's Southern Baptist family.

My daughter represents the total direct opposite in that she, her kids, husband and his family support me completely.

So as you can see, times do change, even if we transgender women and trans men have to step back and look and on occasion need less courage than we think to make it happen.

Freedom?

As much as we don't want to talk (or write) about it, last year from the Fourth of July to this year saw an increase in transgender awareness and how we are treated as we go forward.

Of course the Executive Order on restrooms from the President was huge as was the ruling on same sex marriage. Then there was the long awaited Pentagon's decision to allow open service from transgender members.

KKK Hate From Central Alabama

I knew for sure this morning how far we have come following the announcement from the KKK that they were boycotting transgender women and men. I look good in sheets?

 Then there were Jazz Jennings, Caitlin Jenner and Laverne Cox opening trans doors even further.

Fortunately, I know I have missed so many others just as involved, or as we have written here so often-those of you who help the cause by just going out and being yourself. Which at times is so difficult.

Hopefully by next year being transgender will be so blase I won't have to write about it at all. We will be free to finally join society as full citizens.

J.J's Sunday Edition

Kristin Beck

Ker Plunk! A Fourth of July Sunday Edition is hitting your virtual front porch!
Weather: A coolish gray day here in Southwestern Ohio, expecting a rain out tomorrow though for the fourth itself. A great morning for a iced "cup o joe" or Chai Tea. Grab a cup and lets get started.

Page One: The Week that Was-or Wasn't: Last week brought the return of Caitlyn Jenner to the transgender spotlight with a cover on Sports Illustrated and kind comments about the "Make America White" again candidate Donald Trump.  On the other hand there are many other true transgender roll models to celebrate on the birth place of our nation such as Kristin Beck, the retired Navy Seal.

Page Two: Yesterdays' Coffee-Opinion: First of all, we all should never forget that freedom is never free and my thanks go out to all the active and trans vets who gave up to and all of their lives to protect us in places which just seemed crazy-until the world spins into the hot mess it is today. Thanks to all and mostly, the active service transgender members who were finally legalized by the Pentagon.

Page Three: Junk Yard Dawgs? This week, yes I did whine and cry about my trip to a junk yard with Liz. She finally told me to quiet down and at the least I knew a little about cars and not be a pretty, pretty princess again-point taken (dammit). I suggest you go back to the post "Damn Bucket List" and read Connie's totally different spin on a similar subject!

Page Four: The Back Page: Well kids, it's time to go and enjoy the day. Where ever you may be, I hope you enjoy your weekend. Thanks for spending your precious time here at J.J's house. Luv ya all!!!

Old Friends

Yesterday I was looking for an old fright wig which Liz can trim down into a facsimile of a Rocky Horror Show "Frank-N-Furter" look.

Instead I was fascinated by all the old friends I found as I went through my long unused wigs.

In many ways, each seemed to represent a part of my past progression to where I am now. Some I had fond memories of, some not so much. But either way, each reached out to me. Especially this one which I wore for two years until I literally wore it out.

These are some of my earliest attempts at pictures as I was making my way from cross dresser into transgender woman.

Damn Bucket List

Yesterday I seemed destined to be back in the male dominated arenas I never wanted to be in again. One was an auto repair store which we take our Rolls Royce to a lot, so it's wasn't bad. In fact, one of the younger guys there takes good care of us.

Next up though, I went through what I thought I would never have to do again in my life, look for a mirror for Liz's car in a hot, dusty, oily junk yard with a bunch of dirty, oily guys. (Not my type)

Actually, I didn't have to do any of the talking and sort of blended into the wood work or old cars as Liz found a mirror for her Rolls.

What surprised me next was not a big surprise. Her 18 year old son who enjoys special citizen status did the "work" of calling around for the best price for the mirror. Well, he found it but didn't bother to find out if there was an extra charge to remove it yourself and how much that would be.

My problem is that auto mechanics and I have never been friends and many of the cars there looked like I worked on them-so I was the last one to even try to figure out how take a mirror off. Neither did Liz of course so we were stuck paying more. Even that wasn't so bad but the guy charged her twice what he was charging other men in the yard removing parts from cars because- you got it- she is a woman.

So all you peeps who want to jump out of perfectly good planes or the like for your bucket list, just go ahead and consider a good old hot dusty junk yard instead.

She's Baaaack!

Perhaps you heard Caitlin Jenner's latest political pro Donald Trump comments. If you haven't heard your girl said the "Donald" seems to be very much behind the LGBT community. I think we are too Jenner,  if we are making him money in one of his hotels.

On the brighter side, in Utah, Misty Snow has made history as the state's first Senate Democratic transgender nominee.

It Was Soooo Easy!

"Back in the day" I tried to buy into the idea of women being domestic "princesses". I would "bribe" my wife into dressing up in heels, hose and a dress to have supper waiting when she got home from work.

I even wrote perfumed letters to an "admirer."

My, have times changed!  I just as soon go to a good restaurant than cook, dress attractively (but comfortably) and can barely remember the time I have received a real live letter. I have written here several times about my wife chiding me by saying I was just a pretty mirror princess and knew nothing about being a woman.

Since I am not the sharpest tack in the box, it took me years to finally figure out what she meant-but I did.

The journey started in what I called transvestite mixers in a group called the "Paradise Club." The closest meeting to me was over a hour and a half in Cleveland, Ohio. It was those meetings that I got to meet everyone from men in dresses smoking cigars and wearing cowboy hats in drag all the way to who I called the "A" listers, who seemed destined to take their so called "hobby" to greater lengths. In fact I knew two who went all the way through SRS.

I still was lost though. It seemed the more I experienced, the more questions I had and the transgender word or concept was still years to come. So, I kept on searching for who I really was not knowing I was still years away and one suicide attempt from figuring it out.

Looking back I often wonder how much easier my life would have been if I had just wanted to stay a guy.

I just couldn't do it.

Nikki Lee Carson

Former New Zealand Idol runner-up Nikki Lee says she "had a good life as a guy" but always knew deep down that she had another side she wanted to explore.

The reality TV star shared her gender reassignment journey in this week's issue of Woman's Day Magazine.

In the mag, Lee reveals that she underwent four operations in Phuket in order to complete her gender reassignment and live life as a woman.

Rebecca Root

Britain's Recca Root confirmed this week, she will voice an alien in Zaltys, a new two-hour audio play from writer Matthew J Elliott. She will also feature alongside the Fifth Doctor's original line-up of TV companions - Adric, Nyssa and Tegan - reunited for the first time since March 1982.

The transgender actress will play the wise-cracking, gun-toting galactic scavenger Sable, who has set her sights on the mysterious planet of Zaltys; a world under threat from an imminent asteroid strike, and whose inhabitants have put themselves into a cryogenic sleep to avoid the ensuing nuclear winter. Her plan is to grab as much booty as she can from the sleeping planet, but her plans are thwarted by the arrival of the Tardis - and by a shared enemy also bearing down upon Zaltys. An enemy, according to director Barnaby Edwars, who is, "from the Doctor’s own past. An enemy from out of lBoy Meets Girl star Rebecca Root has joined the Fifth Doctor, Peter Davison, in a new Doctor Who audio drama from Big Finish. 

Go here for more.