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When I was 14, my mother threw a
Halloween party for her friends, and asked if I might want to
dress up as something. Half jokingly, I replied "Hey,
it'd be fun to dress up as a girl." Little did she know
at the time that I had been secretly dressing up in her and my
sister's clothes for the past two years. I jumped at the
chance, since this would be my very first public appearance as
a girl.
My mother dressed me as a
ballerina or some kind of dancer. The outfit wasn't that
spectacular - but it was a wonderful time to be alive - and a
perfect size 6. She did my makeup, and later that night her
friend brought over a longer wig and high black high heels. I
remember my next-door neighbor coming in at one point and
yelling "Gross me out!" when he saw me. I didn't care
though - I was in Heaven!
After she died, I found the photo
you see here in a shoebox in Florida. I quickly snatched
it up and hid it in my pocket before the relatives saw it. What
a timepiece! I had almost forgotten about that first outing -
and I definitely forgot that someone, presumably my sister who
was also in the room, had taken a Polaroid of me. My mother
had saved that Polaroid for nearly 40 years!
A prophetic, photographic portent
of what was to come.
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| Brenda
at 14 |
Brenda
now |
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