RANSVESTIA

covered when I turned off a side road, and with the minimum of getting wet, did a change to total femme image, and immediately felt 100 percent better in the outfit I'd worn the previous evening. I glanced into the field beside which I had stopped to see a man working in the rain a short distance away. I don't know what he thought or what he saw, but I smiled happily anyway as I drove away, and wearing my newly acquired wig gave me an extra lift, as this was the first true daylight public appearance of Christine.

As I drove along at a leisurely pace in a euphoric state, contem- plating a whole month away from work cares, and as yet unspecified hours (?) as Christine, I felt the thrill of excitement recurring at the thought of anticipated but unknown adventures that might lie ahead. Having done some acting on the stage as well as experimenting with accents and dialects both on and off, I decided to project the image of a spinster tourist from Holland, recently arrived in New Zealand. I even worked out a plausible background as balanced and detailed as possible, "just in case" some fantasy situation needed it. It is a maxim of writing to know ten times more about your subject than you use, and the same applies to acting a part, with which this had to be a parallel. So, consciously "thinking myself into the part," I reached a country town where I decided to do some shopping.

When driving past the main intersection I was momentarily panicked by seeing the uniformed figure of the local fuzz standing in the hotel doorway. Watching in my rear view mirror, I was relieved to see him then cross the street and disappear. I drew up on the edge of town, and taking my vanity case, umbrella, keys, and after checking my appearance, I exited as gracefully as I knew how, locked the car and walked away, erecting the umbrella as I went. There was a moment of panic as I realized my situation. ME! in a busy town, in daylight, and quelled the urge to hastily call it off and slink away before disaster struck. I conquered it by reminding myself of my decision to play the part well, and appear as "foreign" as possible in the true sense, in the hope that it would overcome such natural disadvantages as my squarish face and 5′11′′ (in my nylons) height.

Determined thus to convince "them" of my authenticity, I gained confidence and thrilling to the core with rising happiness, I reached the main intersection without encountering a living soul. I paused,

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