noticed a curious look from a teenage girl. She excitedly con- ferred with her companions and I got some more curious looks. Perhaps I should have smiled and tried to stare them down but I chose to walk on and ignore them. A few minutes later a girl came up to me and asked the time. I can't swear she was part of the group but I strongly suspect so. She hurried off and I heard some giggles. I wandered off the other direc- tion.

I

My confidence was somewhat shaken but I was still intact. The vast majority of people didn't seem to be paying me I ended up any attention. at another drug store and picked up a couple of cosmetic items. The only check out aisle was attended by a young lady. judged she gave me somewhat more scrutiny than necessary but she took my money. No "Thank you Mamm" but the lady in front of me didn't get that either. Altogether, incon- clusive but I tended to think she strongly suspected.

Some time later I decided to leave the mall and as I was walking through the parking lot another young lady asked me the time. Either women get asked the timed more than men or I was being tested. This time I had to talk louder and I may have given myself away more. She trotted off and I didn't try to follow her to see if she was sent as a scout. With those three incidents and perhaps a couple of other curious looks from mall patrons I made it through.

My next stop was dinner. My other "dressed dinners" had been in the company of other TV's in a noted liberal district of town. While certainly not a particularly gay restaurant, the particular place we went was used to all kinds of customers. Service was always polite but noncommittal. This particular

Saturday I was nowhere near this restaurant and I wanted a test of the general population. I chose an inexpensive cafeteria- style restaurant which caters to older people and people with young children. The cafeteria aspect allowed me to get through it all with a mini- mum of conversation. The clerk (will they ever run out of perceptive young women) gave me more than a curious glance. She took my money

but I was certain I was read. The meal was uneventful and I only really noticed one person giving me special attention. By now I wished for a dark corner of a dark restaurant but no such luck. I ended up with a well exposed table in the middle. I made tasteful quick work of my meal and left.

My final stop was a movie. I figured after all the encounters so far the movie would be sim- ple. What is the risk in a dark auditorium compared to a bright- ly lit, crowded mall? I ended up at a multi-theater complex. I paid and went in without incident. It seemed the cleanest close encounter of of the day. (And it was still broad daylight!) I sat though the last half of the first movie of a double fea- ture and made it through the intermission with the lights up. No looks or comments I could detect. About forty-five min- utes into the second feature I made a significant decision. With some trepidation I decided to answer my call of nature. I went to the Ladies' room of course, trying to time it when there wouldn't be crowds waiting for a movie to start. There was no one inside when I went in and I got out just as another was coming in. She seemed no problem, just a smile.

woman

I made it back to my seat and settled back with my success, or so I thought.

It must have been a half hour later when who should come - 26.

me

down the aisle and stop right beside but the manager! He asked me to come to the lobby with him. The bottom dropped out! I had no choice

so I went. He motioned a short distance away where a police- man stood! It's a good thing it happened quickly so I couldn't dwell on it. We simply walked over to him. I wish I could remember the exact words. Without preliminaries he said a few words that indicated that he and the manager knew imm- ediately and with one-hundred percent certainty that I was male ! Somehow I was sure that I would be protected by some element of doubt but there was none! Just when it seemed my world was about to end, sunshine broke into this black hole! They simply said that they knew I'd used the Ladies' room and that some of the customers were upset about that kind of thing and that they didn't want me using the bathrooms at that theater. Then they both made a point of saying there was no other problem. They sympathetically said they didn't know what bathroom I should use, just not the Ladies' room there. Then the manager said I should go back and enjoy the show!

With weak knees I walked back into the auditorium and sat in my seat. I wanted to bolt imm- ediately but I decided to wait until the movie ended and leave with the crowd. By then I knew all the employees in the lobby must know about me and would be looking for me when I left. When the movie ended I left without incident.

I

went straight back to the motel where I reentered via the lobby and went to my

room.

What did I learn from the thea- ter incident? Not all the lessons are bad. I learned that I really cannot tell when I've been read. Some people will see through