5:45 a.m. - Tuesday, May. 06, 2003
The First HTDB Meal in America

When I started thinking about meeting people, I had this brilliant idea about how to pick a spot to meet. McDonalds is no longer cheap, fast or even good like they were in days gone by, but there ARE thousands of them. They�re everywhere. They have a website that gives all the addresses and driving directions to every McDonalds in the world. Not only that, but they all mark themselves with golden arches. The ones close to a freeway are even so big you can see them from a distance. So it only made sense to tell Carol and Jessy I would meet them at the McDonalds on Hwy 22 on the way to Altoona.

Instinct and nothing else brought me through the heart of Pittsburgh. I honestly don�t remember a thing about the city; whether it was beautiful or blighted, I can�t say. I was right to choose easterly routes from the maze of highways though, because almost like magic, US 22 east presented itself for my driving pleasure. Shortly after turning onto it, the most welcome golden arches in my life appeared, right at the very spot they were supposed to be. I really am incredible, you know it?

I sat in the parking lot for an extra minute, sweating at sixty-eight degrees and wondering how I looked after my long trip so far. I was supposed to know what Crazy Lady�s car looked like, but I had long forgotten that. No matter. She and Jessy had spotted me through the window and met me outside as I walked toward the door.

Crazy Lady doesn�t keep a diary. She found mine purely by accident while searching the web for information about transsexualism. Her partner, Jessy is a transsexual woman, closer in age to me than she is to you. She�s been taking hormones and living as a woman for years, although the financial means to sex revision surgery have so far escaped her.

As our McDonald�s was in the middle of a road construction area, and no other restaurant was visible, we had our lunch in a corner booth. Crazy and Jessy had left New York State at 6 am to come see me and arrived at the burger joint sometime before noon. I arrived at 2:30 p.m. The staff at McDonald�s were already practically family.

It was quiet, a nice place, actually, to visit. I let the other two ladies get the jump on me and they got the bench against the wall before I did. So I sat opposite them with my own back exposed to the open. Unusual for me, but not a big deal. We spent a couple of hours talking. I heard their story, we discussed different surgeons, and I talked about my own surgeries. I was aware that someone was sitting behind me, back to back; a guy in a striped shirt. But he stayed so long and got so quiet, I eventually had to turn and look to see if he was still there. I can�t imagine what he was thinking, but he sure did stay and listen to us for a long time.

Oh, and I scored a present from them. Silly me, I arrived empty-handed. But they gave me the cutest little teddy-bee. His name is Buzz, and he�s from the Bearington Collection. He�s on the bookshelf right now with the rest of my growing collection, but I think he might go well in my hoopty-car. I�m going to find a special place for him to ride. Crazy also made a card for me on her computer. This was no mean feat for her. She had endless trouble getting the right pictures printed in the right places so she could fold the card and have it turn out right. That makes it very special to me. I notice those things.

My visit with Crazy Lady and Jessy left me with mixed feelings. I felt lucky that I�ve been able to find my way to a kind of financial freedom. That I�ve made the sacrifices and they were enough to get my surgeries. I realized things could have been a lot harder for me. They are for Jessy. On the other hand, I was glad to see the love and commitment between them. That�s something I wish for, but can never find. They struggle, but they struggle together. My adventure to fly north and buy a car was taken alone. Theirs, to drive across the state for a Big Mac and a visit was shared. That makes them the lucky ones. I wonder if they could look in my eyes and know that.

(next�. Altoona with a looney altoonian)

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