and change clothes in the shed. Although these garments weren't as nice as the ones I had been trying on in the house I enjoyed them more because these belonged to me.

Soon I got into the habit of putting on my shirt and trousers over my feminine clothes. This way I could remain dressed for a longer period of time and, before going to bed at night, slip out to the shed on one pre- tense or another, to remove my finery and store it away for another day. I continued on this way for a few years, I suppose till I was about twelve years old. At this time my older brother married, we moved into a larger house, I had a room of my own and cross dressing became less of a pro- blem. This room had a large "Walk-in" closet where I stored my feminine garments, in boxes, down behind all my other clothes. By having my own room I could now sleep in sheer nighties and silk pajamas, which I had added to my vast collection of lingerie but never had the opportunity to wear before. Because of our training in modesty and privacy we never walked into each other's rooms so there was not too much danger of being caught. Although I can remember laying in bed with the covers up around my neck to hide the nightie I was wearing while my mother placed the clothing she had just finished ironing in my dresser drawers.

I now decided I should have a more complete and better fitting wardrobe to replace the cast-offs and hand-me-downs I had cherished for so many years and this meant buying the items I so badly needed and wanted. I was old enough to work so I set about doing odd jobs in my after school hours with just one idea in mind. To make enough money to buy feminine clothing with. I did everything from gathering scrap iron to digging clams. When the other kids were playing baseball on the sand lots I was mowing lawns. And when they were sunning theirselves on the beach I was selling newspapers. It left me little time for social life but penny by penny and nickle by nickle my goal was realized. I now had enough money stached away with which to buy the garments I so sorely desired.

The next problem was how to make the actual purchases. The mail order catalogs were out of the question. I couldn't risk a package coming to the house and being opened by another member of the family. I finally solved this by making bus trips to the neighboring towns, where I couldn't possibly be known, and making the purchases on the pretense they were for a sister. This worked fairly well till one day a sales lady refused to sell me a dress I wanted with the statement “Give your sister the money and let her buy it herself." This started me to thinking, "Why should I make excuses for the things I buy when it's my money and it's no body's business, anyhow, why I choose to buy feminine clothing with it." From

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