Our world is in chaos. Currently we have rioting and civil unrest in the streets. There is a narrative that has fractured our communities and our nation. This has given the rise to a movement called Black Lives Matter. Since I cannot do justice to this community I reached out to a friend for help. She wants to help both our community and the Black Lives Matter community. I also felt it would be appropriate that she speak on this because she is a black transgender woman. Let me tell you a little about Teryl Lynn Foxx. We met this […]
Together or Separate
“Together or Separate,” is the question I get when I go out to eat with my wife. Before I came out waiters always just gave me the check. Many times, my wife paid and even when she gave them her credit card, they would still always hand it back to me. It seemed like it was an unwritten rule. The guy always gets the bill. However, since I’ve transitioned, we get the phrase, “Is that together or separate?” I think it’s one of the things that annoys my wife the most. I mean how do lesbian or gay couples feel […]
They Finally See US !
“WE HAVE RIGHTS!” My world exploded this morning. The three much-anticipated Supreme Court decisions have been rendered. The court held that Title VII protects gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people even if they were not in the mind of those who wrote the law. It was a six to three decision from a conservative Supreme Court. This is a watershed moment in the LGBT history. Not only because of this decision but because it has such broad reaching implications to our community. They finally see us! The Supreme Court heard arguments in three cases to determine if people can discriminate […]
Getting to Acceptance
Acceptance is an animal many transgender people struggle with all their lives. Several online groups help with this so much it’s unbelievable. However, even in these groups some can act as nasty toxic trolls who are not very accepting at times and they are even transgender. Maybe they are stuck in the anger stage of their own transition, who knows. One of my best friends, who is not transgender but is a true transgender ally, was attacked because of a comment she made. You see she has a transgender son and made a comment about coming to terms with her […]
Coming Out 100 Times
This past year I came out to my father over 100 times. My father is 92 and dementia has started setting in. Actually, he worked until he was 90 and physically, he is fine. But his short-term memory is really bad. I remember the first time I told him I was transgender; gosh it was really hard. I had so many emotions that overloaded me. I had already told my brothers and he was next in line. He is such a nice guy. After I told him he said he would keep it a secret and not tell my brothers […]
Tito and Hobbs Last Sunrise
Well I am not sure where to start. There is so much I want to say, and my thoughts are all over the place. It was right after hurricane Gustav when a dog showed up at our doorstep. He was kicked out of a truck at the edge of our property. The kids fell in love with him right away. I on the other hand, I told them no, “We can’t have a dog,” because I knew what it would take to keep him, and I shooed the dog away. Over the next few days or maybe a week the […]
Help at the Auto Store
So, I went to get brake pads for my car today. The woman helping said, “Can I help you ma’am?” I told her in a joking manner, “I needed my car to stop, so I guess I’m looking for brakes.” She thought I was being serious and after getting them, she asked if I had someone to change the pads for me. I said, “No I’m going to change them myself.” So, she got small tube of anti-squeak lube and told me exactly how to apply it on the brakes. She made sure I knew not to put it on […]
Second Dance with Alcohol
It looks like I’ve started a second dance with alcohol. I guess I need to tell you about my first time. Many transgender people try to mask their pain, I am no exception. I started slow, like many, I would have a drink or two at night before going to bed. However, after a while that one or two turned into four or five tumblers or rum with a splash of diet coke. Before I knew it, I was drinking about a gallon of rum a week. That’s about ¾ a bottle a night. I got so use to it […]
Why Am I Transgender
Wow what a question. I have been trying to answer this question over the last couple of decades and even more recently the last several years of therapy. I don’t know if I will ever be able to answer this. Is it because my mother told me she wishes I was a girl at the age of 4 or 5? Or did she know I was supposed to be a girl from the start. How does nature/nurture play into this question? They say that the fetus is bathed in hormones or testosterone at different stages of uterine development. This gives […]
Deep Thoughts
This was a very hard and yet very fulfilling day for me. In this picture I helped my oldest son (not pictured) on a movie project of his. The movie was a transgender story called, “I Am A Girl.” One of my sons’ best friends was transgender. They wrote a transgender story about coming out. The picture above is me doing what is called focus pulling. My job is to keep the picture in focus. This shoot was very hard on me in many ways, yet it was so rewarding in others. As you can see here, I was presenting […]