brother's wife and myself were about to spend two weeks of blissful rest. What to do? She knew that Susanna would absolutely refuse to obliter- ate herself during those two precious weeks... so, with great fear in her heart, she allowed Susanna's brother to pick them up at their home and bring them to Casa Susanna. The poor woman must have felt awful.

On the first morning of our vacation my brother took them all for a ride (the first and only ride HE would take in two weeks). This was to underscore the difference between Susanna and her brother. And then in the afternoon, I emerged in all my glory to greet the world. The three kids were playing outside in the lawn. I walked towards them, and look- ing each of them in the eye I said "how about riding with me to the store, I have to do some shopping." You should have seen their expressions! The surprise was complete. All three of them refused to come along. As soon as I drove off, they raced to see my brother's wife . . . who was that woman? . . . and one of them, sharper than the rest: "she looks just like... him!" And the cat was out of the bag! Upon my return, one half hour later. . . a three-boy jury was waiting impatiently... this was to be the trial of the century! What a bombardment of questions: how come you are wearing a dress? and why the lipstick and the wig? -do you wear a girdle? So, in measured words I took up my defense in front of a jury which had no preconceived prejudices, but were totally baffled as to why a man should want to appear as a girl. All three, upon question- ing, said they would not want to dress like this... being a boy-they felt -was much more fun than being a girl. But they heard my story A story which Transvestia veteran readers found some years ago in TVia No. 12.

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I did not attempt to give them sociological causes, nor did I try to push into them my favorite bio-chemical explanation. Instead I chose an explanation which would stir their imaginations . . . and I asked them to put themselves in the place of a little kid, just their age, who discovered that he was sharing his body with the soul of a little girl. To my delight, all three kids would easily visualize the situation: two personalities in one body. (My apologies to Sheila, Virginia, et al . . . but you'd be green with envy if you had seen the fantastic reaction of all three kids) . . They took it very seriously. My "brother" had simply withdrawn from the scene. It was Susanna's turn to live, to be herself. And they could see the tremendous difference between the "brother” and Susanna. I told them how "he" hated them. . . Hadn't they noticed how cold, grouchy, unfriendly he always was towards them? Yes, indeed, they certainly had noticed it! And here was Susanna smiling and offering them her friend- ship! Needless to say that juvenile jury not only absolved me with a resounding "not guilty", but expressed the wish that Susanna should simply stay on and on . . . and couldn't I do something to sort of dispose

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