Just Good Enough

I hope you enjoyed the long weekend break and the respite from my Hamvention stories. Despite the break, I did receive a few e-mails about my Hamvention experiences.

Beth wrote, "Thank you for reporting to us what sorts of responses you are getting from the ham populous… All I can say is that I continue to be amazed that you are accepted to the point that you are made to feel comfortable.  Quite simply, you continue to inspire."

My response was (more or less), "Thank you for your nice comments, Beth.

"I still find it hard to believe that the general population is so open-minded that they accept a tranny (me) in their midst all the time.

"I think I can attribute my success at being accepted to my ability to look just good enough so that people who might wonder about my cisgender are unsure and afraid to take that great leap and accuse me of being a man in a dress.

"For example, when I attended my first banquet at Hamvention, I was one of the first arrivals and was seated by myself. Two guys joined me; one was wearing a cowboy hat (atypical for southwestern Ohio) and the other was dressed like the trucker he actually was in a character T-shirt and jeans. They were both from Wyoming.

"In my mind, it was not the best case scenario. But we had pleasant chats throughout the evening and they treated me like a lady never giving the slightest hint that they had a clue.

"When I attended my second banquet at Hamvention, I was seated with three married couples and three single guys. While seated, two of the wives briefly and very quietly exchanged words, but I was able to hear the gist of what they said. One wife asked the other something about me ("her") and the other wife shrugged and said, "I don't know."

"Were they wondering about my cisgender or were they wondering if I was dating their friend, who was the guy who invited me to sit at their table or what? Whatever the case, they did not seem to have any problem with me.

"My life sure is interesting, if I say so myself!"