usually in restaurants). I make a point of removing the left glove to make the rings visible. I do a lot of mechanical work but am careful of my hands and nails.

I dressed as usual lately, enfemme, first thing in the morning for the day. Edith and I are in the house alone but I do meet certain people at the door. There are some who are familiar and understand my "condition," all women, except my son who is fully aware and non-understanding. Since my home is in a rather choice resi- dential area with houses apart, I can drive away and back without notice. I am the oldest and the longest resident in this restric- ted area, having been in the same house 59 years this month. Incidentally, I have now comp- leted 56 years of flying, begin- ning on my 18th birthday, 12/15/23. At that time I had attained 6' 2 1/2" height and remained so for most of my adult life. However, in the past few years I have had a loss of height of almost 3" and now measure just about 6' even, in the morning, and about 5 11 1/2" late in the day. This loss of height has surprised me for I am not bent over at all. Height has never bothered me when dressed. I walk proudly and erect. So many tall girls slouch and it looks awful. I consider my height an actual advantage in the deception, for who would expect a six foot man to appear in public drees- sed as a woman? I wear high heels always for who would expect a mere man to be able to walk so well on high heels? I have worn high heels at all times in the house for over 50 years and much more than my wife has. She has difficulty in walking on heels over 2" high, while I wear them over 3" habitually on my size 12 shoes at home and when dressed and walk on them gracefully and comfortably I find high heels more comfortable than low

heels.

My first wife was very understanding but she died after our 30th wedding anniversary. Edith and I are very happily married. We are now well into our 15th year. Our sex life is just fine. I would not want to be a female woman but I am

fully satisfied with being a male. I just like to be a part time lady. I would not want to do it full time but could do so with ease. I therefore have no desire for a sex change. For one thing it would ruin my sex life and therefore my mar- ried life. For another it is not

necessary. I get along just fine the way I am. I have had a very exciting and adventurous life and it continues, as a man. Being a part time lady is a wond- erful recreation and it is a part of me that cannot be erased. When a lady I just forget being a male and simply live the part of a woman except that I have no interest in men at all. I have no interest in drinking or smoking. Who needs them? I am certainly one of the hap- piest people in the world. I consider myself a "dualgen- derite", not just a "femmeper- sonator" or "transvetite". My mother dressed me when I was very young, starting before I can remember, and taught me nice manners as a girl at age 5 1/2 the last time she dressed me. After that, my long hair was cut and I stayed a boy 'til about age 12 when I could no longer resist dressing and did so in the closet with my mother's clothes at first, and then later on, with my own. Dressing has never been an erotic experience with me. It has simply seemed natural to me. When I was very young, and even contin- uing for a few years after my mother stopped dressing me, I honestly did not know the difference between the sexes and thought it was simply a choice to be made as to how to act and what clothes to wear. I thought that those who grew

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to be big would be men and the smaller ones would be women, and wear the pretty clothes. On a recent television program I saw Dr. Wardell Pomeroy define a transvestite as a person who gets erotic satisfaction out of wearing the clothes of the opposite sex, meaning of course mostly men. If that is true then I am not a transvestite for to me feminine garments are natural to me and give me no more erotic satisfaction than masculine garments do.

Two of our lady friends have stopped in so far to visit Edith and Joan. The second one is staying for dinner. The amus- ing thing about her is that she never wears a dress or skirt but wears pants all the time. She said to me that she owns only one dress and that has not been out of the closet in years. The only shoes she wears are sneakers. But she comp- liments me on my appearance, seems to like me very much and said that I "put all us women to shame", meaning not only my nice clothes but especially my trim figure which she doesn't have. I am a much better look- ing woman than any of the lad- ies who come to visit us, yet they do not seem to mind. Apparently they have just given

up

on trying to get them- selves back in shape. They are all overweight and bulgy, from legs to face. I have a female cousin who has seen me dres- sed in my finest but who vio- lently disapproves, yet she too wears pants at all times and has told me that she has gotten rid of all dresses and skirts. We were at a New Year's Day dinner and both of those women were there with their pants and sneakers. The dinner was given by a sister of the cousin mention- ed and she approves of Joan and we go out shopping toge- ther, including lunches, and we visit each other often. She is a retired R.N. and a spinster whereas her disapproving sister could not make a success of a