Dear Virginia:

Please pardon my use of "Virginia" as you signed your note as Charles. However, your inner self projects into the pages of the magazine. Your other self, the Charles, is steadfast, demanding, and quite wonderful. Your ability to gather and lead shows thru to me. But courage is your crowning glory. My god, Virginia, I was a marine in W.W. II and Korea and I have had to face up quite often when the chips were really down in the masculine sense of the word. I have met it and done the job that was expected of me. But your editorial on facing up to being a TV (in #6) if the mail people should confront one during a routine investigation is quite a re- quest. I have never been faced with this, but one of us, if he has spent his life being and proving masculinity would surely need cour- ago. Virginia, I'm sure I have what it takes and would stand as a TV rather than betray my inner self under pressure. But, dear God, perish the thought!

Sincerely,

C.N. (22-N-1)

Ed. Note: I do not publish this letter because of the kind words expressed about me, but because it illustrates a prob- lem we all face. Having kept our secret so close for so long the idea of saying it out loud to someone else appears to us as an insoluble problem. It isn't really. Every time you tell it to people it becomes easier. I've been through some pretty rough and embarassing situations that hurt me pretty badly at the time. But in retrospect I find that I profited by them con- siderably. Having been "exposed" one no longer has to fear ex- posure and so I found that it was easier to tell others because of what had been done involuntarily to me. What C,N. refers to as courage is really not that, it is just a realization that truth is truth and facts are facts and if you are a TV stop be- ing ashamed of it and speak the truth....neither with fear nor with bragadoccio but just as a fact. The world will not cave in on you, On the contrary you will be much the better for having broken the secrecy barrier. Ask the man who's done it!

000---000

Dear Virginia:

As I promised a few days ago, how my wife has accepted"Janice".

here is the letter telling We have been married for nine

years, and she did not know of my cross dressing habits until

62.