DIANE AT LARGE

By Diane Frank

There were three outstanding events in my life this month. (Well, three that I’ll share with you dear readers!)

MetroHealth Pride Clinic
The first event, the grand opening of the MetroHealth Pride Clinic, is important to many in our larger community. I’ve anticipated this clinic for years as one of the leading and founding doctors, Henry Ng, has been dropping in on Transfamily, collecting information to sort out what our major health care needs are and how they might be managed. I was pleased to see that their mission includes all the LGBT communities, as I worried that the T* population was too small to sustain more than a few hours a week clinic. The arrival of the clinic was celebrated by a party at Bounce, where I made a number of connections with old friends that will be useful in offering author Helen Boyd and her TG husband Betty a good reception when they visit Cleveland this May.

At the party, they also offered a great deal of literature. Among the take-aways were HIV related items aimed at gay and separately at T* communities. I will have appropriate documents reproduced on the website as time permits. Here are the subject headings for a 10 point topic list that many T* people should discuss with their health care providers.

1. Access to health care
2. Health history
3. Hormones
4. Cardiovascular health
5. Cancer
6. STDs and safe sex
7. Alcohol and tobacco use
8. Depression/Anxiety
9. Injectable silicon
10. Fitness

The source of the list was Dr. Becky Allison, well known in TS circles, and I should hasten to note that most of these items are only of indirect interest to AO members and spouses.

But, having a local health clinic where men with hairless legs and underarms would not be remarked on, nor would what one wore be remarked on, could relieve a great deal of anxiety among some who are closeted, but vulnerable do to personal choices.

It was an amusing coincidence that the one person of T* origin who showed up from a long ways away, was specifically hoping to make a connection with someone in Cleveland who would do silicon injections on her (procedure number nine). This was the first time I’d knowingly met someone with illegally injected silicone, and I have to say that we didn’t connect on any level. Our worlds were about as far apart as possible, even though we had superficial similarities in clothing.

New York City
My second biggy was visiting my cousin in NY for Passover, and while there, getting to meet Helen and Betty for the first time. In order to make that work, I gritted my teeth and came out to my cousin….who while shocked was supportive. And, when she called her husband got on the phone to assure me that he was cool with it too. So I had the pleasure of getting nicely dressed and descending to the lobby of the high rent co-op where the doorman hailed a cab for me. A glamorous young woman dressed in a black ball gown and expensive hair scooted over to make room for me on the bench while we waited. Was she so wonderfully put together for the Opera? No, a birthday party! Ah, New York. There is just no place like it!

I rendezvoused with the My Husband Betty crowd at a restaurant called East of Eighth, located just where it says, at about 23rd Street and 8th Avenue, in the Village. My disappointment of the evening was that the food was not as good as I expected. When you’re used to sushi-grade seared wasabi encrusted tuna from a certain Boston area barrister’s seafood establishment, a thin bit of tuna cooked to tuna salad flavor and texture isn’t enjoyable. But, the people were enjoyable, and I got to meet other people I’ve corresponded with besides Helen and Betty. I’m delighted to say that they are as clever and thoughtful in person as they are on the internet.

After dinner we walked over to a place that by day, is a well known German restaurant and by night is a t* meat market. I was surprised that it was so small, no larger than the local hangouts. There was a wedding shower/bachelorette party going on and I was persuaded to take pictures of them and thus earned having someone buy me a drink. The place was crawling with admirers, and they generally seemed to be focused on one absolutely stunning Asian woman wearing a very classic evening gown and gray fox stole. She would disappear with them for 15 minutes at a time and then reappear fixing her hair.

And yes, some annoying fellow in his early thirties who had one too many tried to pick me up with some line about having been in the army with me. His intentions were made quite clear when he left with another of the Asian beauties on his arm and didn’t come back. I’m writing these details because I think there are people out there who don’t have any feel for what this part of transworld is about or may be disbelieving. The other reason is to be clear that I have been to these sorts of places, and I’m not making things up…nor am I totally lacking in sympathy for the denizens.

There is an image frozen in my mind of the woman in the stole being dragged away by some guy, and her turning away looking back at her friends and reaching out a gloved arm towards them. At that moment I really wondered what gave her joy in life, and what she hoped for in the future.

Couture
Finally, I spent an enjoyable afternoon with a friend from my book circle attending a lecture on Mary McFadden couture at Ursuline College that went along with an exhibit of her couture pieces. McFadden is well known for her pleated gowns. Generally made of polyester, and sometimes silk by a hot molding process the pleats are small, not sharp, and permanent and give a wonderful grace and flow to a garment.

I have two skirts with similar pleating and they are fun and move well when in motion and hold shape nicely when standing still. Much of McFadden’s creations were ethnically or historically inspired. Word is that there will be a reception sometime later this year when Ms. McFadden will make an appearance herself.

That’s all for this month. I’ve not going to say publicly what the schedule is for Helen and Betty visiting in May…but tentative locations so far are Loganberry Books, Bounce Nightclub, and church on the West Side, a coffee house and another bookstore. I’m falling behind here, because my day job has become so consuming I’ve been unable to sneak off to make the key phone calls