RANSVESTIA

emotional investment by simply presenting him (or her) with new, logical information." So I couldn't change Mary's mind, but she did change her own, using my information when she didn't have to defend herself. Would that this situation could be applied to hundreds of others-some of whom are doubtless reading these words right now-so that they would be able to evaluate the surgery more objectively and not entirely subjectively.

Well, all that was 1969. 1970 for most of the year was pretty much like other years except for my Pacific Circle trip. In the late summer I took off from LAX one midnight and landed in Tahiti about 4 a.m. the next morning. I was part of a tour group. I had never met any of my traveling companions before (or so I thought). I was paired up with another woman. On that first night-or rather morning because we were all so bushed that we went to bed about 6:30 a.m. immediately after arriving at the hotel. I made a point of taking only my pajama bottoms and going into the bathroom to undress. Then I came out in the pants and a September morn gesture of one arm crossed over my chest as though covering my breasts but making sure that they were both visible. When my roommate looked up and saw me—and them- that settled things for her. With those two protuberances above I couldn't have any below, so we were sisters. We stayed together 42 nights on that trip-and about 60 more on two subsequent trips-and to this day she supposes I am a female. Well, I am in spirit, but I don't hold the ultimate membership card.

But I got my greatest shock of the whole trip the next afternoon. We had all been taken to an open area near the beach after being driven around the town of Papeete and dropped off with instructions as to how to get to the city market, etc. We were supposed to meet back there at 4:30 p.m. to return to the hotel. I did my sightseeing and got back to the meeting point about 4 o'clock. One of the men on the trip was already there. We talked a few minutes and suddenly he said, "I know you, you're Charles Prince!" I nearly died on the spot. Here I was 7,000 miles from home and on the first day somebody reads me. I thought the jig was up. But naturally I denied it and feigned a com- bination of innocense and annoyance that he should take me, a woman, for being a man. It didn't work. He went on to say, "Yes, you gave a lecture at so and so's house in Lomita, you're a TV." Well, he had me, I had given that lecture, so I came clean and admitted who and what I was but begged him to keep it to himself or he would spoil

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