RANSVESTIA

now Vice President of one of our largest multi-national corporations. He is tough, shrewd, and by far the most successful one of us all.

In my boyhood recollections, there is no overprotective mother, no domineering sister, no dress up occasions, no high school plays with girl parts. And I never in my life went to a costume party.

In adolescence, I did well in sports and athletics, but early displayed boredom with games and an almost complete inability to "mix". From my parents I received warm and sincere support. My education was thorough but liberal, orderly but not regimented. I was always encouraged, never pushed.

I was able early to obtain everything I wanted. "Hand-me-downs" were not practiced in the family, and my mother and sisters bought a fair amount of clothes. Anything worn or out of fashion was gathered in a large bag, marked for the Red Cross. In our community the Red Cross carried on somewhat as the Goodwill Industries do today. Old clothes were collected and patched up through voluntary labor, and then distributed as charity or for relief.

I helped myself to dresses, lingerie, girdles, stockings, more than I could conveniently hide or use. It was also an inconspicuous place to get rid of things from time to time. Whatever I took always got to the Red Cross eventually, though a season or two delayed.

I usually had the weekends available. Saturdays were dependable. Everyone left the apartment for a date or just going out on the town. I went out too with the rest, walked around the block a couple of times, and returned to find the place all to myself. I rigged up a convenient escape route to my room or one of the bath rooms in case of an un- expected early return.

My luck held. There were a few narrow escapes, but I kept my secret. World War II for me came in between High School and College, and turned out to be a peculiar sort of torture. Life in the barracks was by far the worst part of it. Overseas duty, despite the hazards, in many ways seemed a relief. Luck held again, and I came through it without a scar. College too left few scars. Perhaps college did not leave much of anything else either, but I had a profession and a job, and with that I went out to seek my fortune in our brave new world.

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