Good Monthly Support Group Meeting

I walked into the conference room at the free clinic where our group meets tonight, and who should be the first to greet me, but our lovely group president, just back from the Papillon Center in Pennsylvania, where she had her GRS a month ago. We exchanged a warm hug, and I congratulated her on her triumph! She was looking absolutely radiant in her silky aqua print sundress and strappy white sandals, and seemed no less for the trauma she had just been though. She did say she was a bit low on energy, but you would never have guessed it, by the lively, just like old times way she took charge of the meeting! And to think this lovely confident woman, was the same timid creature, who refused to get out of the car a few years ago with her other TG girlfriends, when they stopped at a Sheetz, to relieve their bladders and get a bite to eat.

It seems that each time I go to a meeting, I meet new and interesting people. Tonight I met one of those girls who was with our president, the day she cowered in fear in the car. She lives out of state now, but is planning to move back, to join the staff of a local university. If I didn't know better, I never would have known she had a transgender past. She looked like a perfectly normal middle aged woman. She brought her husband with her. He has been a man all of his life, and he is the perfect gentleman. We had another around the room discussion, and when it was his turn to speak, he brought the house down, by introducing himself as a man, trapped in then body of a man! He then added that he was fascinated with all that he was hearing. Truly a nice guy! Why can't they all be like that?

Our mutual Blogger girlfriend, Sophie was there, and it was so nice to see her again. She is full time now, and has finally unloaded her house, and has purchased an RV, that she now has set up on a site in an RV Park. At close to 40' long, her new home on wheels is large enough to sport a master bedroom with a queen size bed! Far more roomier and luxurious accommodations, than she had aboard ships, during her career in the Navy.

Tonight I learned that our group has only been in existence, for a few years, 4-5 at the most. I have always considered Richmond to be somewhat of a backwater, but this information confirms it for me. It was twenty six years ago, that I sat crying my eyes out in a Richmond psychiatrist's office over my acceptance of who I was , after reading Jan Morris's book Conundrum. My shrink, as sympathetic as he was in confirming my transsexualism, could give me scant little advise as to where to find any kind of necessary transgender support. What a disgrace! This was 12 years after Jan Morris had her surgery, and fully three decades after Christine Jorgensen had her's! So many lives put on long term hold, or worse yet, terminally delayed because of an utter lack of societal awareness! And to think that there are still cities and towns all over America, that have absolutely no resources whatsoever, for their transgender citizens. By now, almost five decades after Christine Jorgensen had to go to Denmark to complete herself, full trandgender care should be an integral part of every medical and mental health facility in the country, and should be covered by every health care insurer.

Melissa XX