Chapter Ten

Fading Dreams

A new date? But Kissy doesn't have a thing to wear...

 

Part 6 of 6

 
Chapter 14
"Dammit Penny!" cried Myrna, slamming down the phone. "I feel like I should go out and stand on the street corner with a sign saying 'Anything helps - God Bless.' I'm sick of begging for money. How did we ever let the system get this corrupt?"

 

Part 4 of 6

 
Chapter 8
With the first public appearances behind them, it was time to hit the road. No one runs for office without a large number of volunteers willing to go out and do the legwork, answer the phones, make the endless calls, pay the bills, program the computers and generally support the candidate.

 

Part 3 of 6

 
Chapter 6
Two days later Helen and the slightly mystified Penny were sitting in a plastic surgeon's office in Reno Nevada. For Penny, traveling with someone who was almost the woman for whom she worked for many years was a surreal experience.

 

Part 2 of 6

 
Chapter 4
Mothers.

There is one, and only one, thing that can be said about mothers without deviating one iota from the absolute truth: We all have one.

 

Part x of 6

 
WARNING! If you are of a conservative bent, you'll hate this one. You. Have. Been. Warned.

Author's Note: I stole this plot from Robert Heinlein, who stole it from a long line of felonious authors reaching back to some guy pressing Cuneiform into clay on a riverbank in the Middle East, in hopes of preserving his deathless prose. It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected. - Mark Twain
 

“When I first moved here, I hoped I would make a friend, and when I met you, it was like a dream come true. You’re strong, self-confident, and not confrontational like so many guys. At first, it seemed like you really didn’t want to be friends, but things seemed to work out. I have never had such a good friend, and I never knew such a … such a wonderful guy!

 

Part 9 of 11

Chapter 14
It took us two days to read all the things I had been given. It looked like being a Court Reporter involved more that pushing buttons on a machine, you had to take stenography and legal vocabulary and quite a few other courses to qualify. For a seventeen year old high school dropout, it looked like a lot to do. I just had to tell myself I was a twenty-one year old A student - just like my transcript said.

 

Part 7 of 11

Chapter 10
Patty was right. It took three more days for Mike the Cop to ask me for a date. It was the first time I talked to a cop and he was the one being nervous. Go figure! We got off the bus and Mike the Cop just happened to be walking by the bus stop when we arrived.

 

Part 5 of 11

Chapter 8
It took three more days for the storm to stop and the plows to clear the streets so cars could move once more. Other than sleepin' with Patty, I had a hard time learnin' to be Liza. The girls were determined that I would be the kind of girl that no one would think twice about bein' anythin' but what she looked like.

 

Part 3 of 11

Chapter 5
The girls went off to their bedrooms and I was left on the couch. I tried to figure out just what I was goin' to do, that talk of body bags had me scared. It all sounded cool and great fun when Uncle Jimmy got me inta the heist, but someone gettin' killed was a shit show I wasn't ready for. I fell asleep before I could do much more thinkin'. It had been a long, strange day.
 

Chapter 1
I blame it all on my Uncle Jimmy. It's his fault I ended up this way. It certainly wasn't my fault, I mean c'mon, I was just a kid, what did I know?

 

Part 7 of 7

Chapter 14
How did four years go by so fast? Seems like just Yesterday Rose was starting high school and in a few minutes she would be walking across the stage to receive her diploma. Travis and Ruth smiled to think the entire family was there to watch, and not incidentally keep track of the active four-year-old and frenetic two-year-old grandchildren who were bored with the whole affair.

Epilogue, October 9, 2020
The whole Covid-19 mess has left me with a great deal of time on my hands. One of the things I have done is re-read my diaries from the beginning of my transition. I've decided that sharing them might be a help to someone else who is thinking that living as a woman is a desirable thing to do, so I've excerpted those parts about transitioning.

Nancy helps a friend and tries a new persona.

Monday, December 16
Oddly, I got the answer to finding Mary Ann's gift in the psychology exam this morning. There were questions about family relations and - of course! - dysfunction. Which made me realize I should call her brother Dale and ask him if he has any bright ideas. I had to slap myself and put my mind back on the exam after getting another bright idea.

Saturday, October 26, 2013
Dress shopping with Eve and Mary Ann. I'm getting a real kick out of being a bridesmaid, something I never aspired to in my wildest dreams. Some of the girls I know on campus are addicted to something called Say Yes To The Dress and can go on for hours about finding the perfect wedding gown. Hey - I love wearing dresses and enjoy shopping on my rather limited budget, but really! I just can't get into gushing about this neckline or that train or who knows what else.

Monday, October 14, 2013
Last day at camp, sort of bittersweet. We got up much later than yesterday and not a few of the girls were moaning about the amount of wine that they drank the night before. The phrase 'wine is a mocker' - in my father's voice, naturally - ran through my head but I wisely kept it between my ears.

Monday, September 9, 2013
Much food for thought in Psychology today. Only the second class and my head is spinning. The prof dug right in with personality types. The old Greeks decided there were four: choleric, melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic. Meyers-Briggs thinks there are sixteen. Other people throw other numbers into the pot. Kind of like a lottery but nobody is a clear winner.

Wednesday, September 4, 2013 (continued)
All of my musing on the past is how I started my day. Because of my late enrollment, the only English Literature class with any openings occurred at eight o'clock on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Since Monday was Labor Day, school started on Wednesday. Thus I began my day wandering around campus lost and confused. Over the summer I had gotten used to the library's more civilized hours, opening at ten. I had to get up before the sun in order to shower, dress and ride the bus.