One of the girls, was a professional beautician and, as luck would have it, was also my next door neighbor. She continues to 'do'' my hair, free of charge, and has even given me several new wigs from time to time. The other girls is a nurse and has been acquainted with transvestites so very little disturbs her. Both girls are wonderful people.

After six months of working with makeup, clothes and wigs, I felt that I was ready for the BIG STEP - appearing in public. This called for traveling some distance to a large town where there would be little chance of meeting anyone that I might know.

Talk about being nervous! I certainly was in a dither when I left the motel room. I had forgotten to use my perfume and almost overlooked my nail-polish.

As I left the room in the early evening I met two young boys on the stairway. Trying to act as cool as possible, I cas- ually walked past them as if I had done this hundreds of times before, As we passed each other, they continued to talk among themselves and paid absolutely NO attention to me. It was a relief that the first hurdle was over with! Within a few minutes I was in the midst of all sorts of people at a crowded shopping center. No one paid any attention to me so I guess that I was doing everything all right. The large store windows made good mirrors to see who was passing by me and I would pretend to be looking at some merchandise in the window display. It gave me an opportunity to observe whether any heads were turning in my direction. Oh, a few did, for an instant, and then they would continue on their way.

Finally got bold enough to stroll through a brightly-lit store where I could just be another shopper looking over the pretty clothes. Again, most everyone was so pre-occupied that they really never noticed me.

After an hour of this I thought it best to return to my motel room where my wife was waiting for a full report. She was much to frightened to accompany me on my adventure. Thus I had to go by myself this first time.

Probably the main factor in "going out" anywheres is how you act in front of other people. The biggest way to draw atten- tion is to be doing something different from what others are doing. And, of course, avoid acting suspicious. And, trying to "hide" something is the quickest way to be spotted as a cross- dresser. If someone should be persistent in following you, then the crowd becomes an advantage. It is much easier to get lost among a lot of people as opposed to just a few.

For a transvestite, speaking to someone presents a new set of problems. One should listen to "how"women talk. No-

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