Yesterday, four good friends were to meet in Savannah for a day a of reminiscing about a life 40 years ago. Three of us live in the south (Atlanta and Fayetteville, NC), so we get together every once in awhile. But the forth guy still lives in New Jersey and we do not see him often.
Our friend from N.C.could not make it at the last minute.
So it was just the three of us.
I mentioned in yesterday's post and I was thinking about telling them about me being a woman and that I was going to be expressing my true self. I did not think they would be against it nor did I think there would be any negative reaction to it. I just did not want it to take away and dominate this meeting.
Well, I ended up not saying anything, but I was amazed at how the issue came up three times. Each time, it came me the opportunity to discuss it but I guess I was still scared. It was like someone kept setting up the moment for me and each time I declined.
The first time, my friend from Atlanta (I will call him John) and I were talking about our children. We each have three girls that are about the same age. He stated that he thought one of the girls may be part of an "alternative lifestyle". I told him that one of my daughter mentioned it last year.
The second time, as we all sat around the dining room table, our New Jersey friend (I will call him Joe) talked about his Amazon job. He was having problems with a female supervisor who was very masculine in appearance and action and was married to another female employee at Amazon. The supervisor's wife was very attractive and they just had a child. This friend, is the youngest of the group by 6 months and is just turning 59. He is a fitness guy, just like me. He use to be a fitness coach and is in great shape with no grey hair. So we teased him that his supervisor felt threatened by his good looks and that her wife might have said something. Joe stated that the wife was a lesbian and we fired back that maybe she is bisexual. We use to always tease Joe about his good looks rugged appearance. He played high school football and looks like he still could. So yesterday was no different and we just laughed about it and moved on.
But he is upset about the Amazon warehouse work rules and conditions. John is a medical doctor who works in the area of compliance and reports to the FDA and OSHA, so he said he would look into it for Joe.
The third time, we decided to go to Downtown Savannah to eat along the Riverwalk. I had to park 2 blocks west of the river. We parked and walked toward the river. On the way, we passed an old theater that had a line of customers. The Danish Girl was playing. Joe stated that he saw the extended coming attraction for this movie and felt that the problem was that the wife let him touch and hug that dress. John stated that he had seen or read much about it, but if its like Caitlyn Jenner, it was a non-issue but he was not interested in the movie. This was a perfect time for me to bring my transgenderism up, but I let that moment go.
In all three cases, LGBT issues come up and no negative words or derogatory statements were made. I felt really good about it and it confirmed my thoughts that once I do say something, I will still remain part of the group. These guys are very important to me because its a strong link to a very special and fun part of my life.
I have decided to discuss the issue when we get back together this summer.
BTW, we figured John and Joe had not seen each other in 42 years. Darn, time flies when you are having fun.
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