Most articles written for publications aimed at crossdressers deal with fantasies or situations where the male is crossdressed. This is fine for those of us who have crossdressed for many years and have, at least, some idea of who we are, where we are going and where various things fit into our lifestyle.

This is not so for the new crossdresser. When he finally finds that he is not the only male in the universe who has a need to wear the clothing that today's society classifies as "for women only", he enters a new arena. In many cases, the floodgates are unleashed and he tries to make up for lost time. It is all so new and exciting that he may enter a state of euphoria. The idea that it is OK to wear panties, hose, bras, slips, dresses, etc. is mind boggling. But there is so much to learn! What are his femme sizes, how do you do makeup, where can he go and what can he do? Sadly, some reason that if wearing the clothes is this great then taking hormones must be even better. And imagine how great it would be to have SRS and be a real woman.

Whoa! You are still a man. Think back about your life. Did you enjoy being a male? Did you like the automatic respect, the feeling of power, and the freedom to go and do pretty much as you pleased that are automatically granted to boys?

Sure, we all missed having that formal and going to the prom; wearing mini skirts, and doing all of the other things that we envied young girls doing. You probably don't envy them their menstrual periods, being mentally undressed by all of the horny boys, and the roller coaster mood swings as their hormones ebbed and flowed.

Whether you are married with children, married without children or single, you are still a man. Do you want to throw away all of your relationships for an experiment in self gratification?

I am a male crossdresser of almost six decades. I enjoyed being a boy while I was growing up and I enjoy being a male as an adult. I have no ideas of ever going "full time" or having SRS. I would like to tell my extended family about this part of me, but I haven't decided yet whether or not I will. If I don't, they will never know of a significant part of me. If I do, they may not be able to handle it and I will have caused them unnecessary pain.

The point of all of this is the following article. It describes a trip taken by my male self, my spouse and two of our children. There was absolutely no crossdressing involved. When talking with Mary Frances Fairfax about this trip, she was somewhat incredulous. "You mean you didn't dress at all?" "You didn't get into another of your predicaments?" My reply was something like "No, I was just a male on a vacation". You see, a male crossdresser has two facets - a male side and a female side. Both sides need to be expressed. Most, if not all wives, really want to spend time with "their man".

A ski trip to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. So much to do. We had to decide on clothes to take, make plane reservations, and make rental car reservations. The plane - you can't get there from here! All of the flights are overbooked. You can't go direct to Reno or connect through Salt Lake City. The only way we can get you there is to go to San Francisco, sit for 10 hours and then fly a shuttle back to Reno. The rental car was easy. The accommodations were easy too since we have a timeshare condo at Incline Village.

The BIG DAY is here. Get up in the middle of the night so that we can finish packing and get to the airport in time for our early bird departure. Did I mention that our son and daughter were going with us? Well they were. We arrived at the ticket counter where everything turned out to be in order. Our luggage looked like we were going to be gone for a month, not just a week. We went through security and on to the gate. Funny, there were people all around the left main landing gear out on the ramp. Hummmmm. Listen! A public address announcement. "The flight for San Francisco will now be leaving from gate 11." We were at gate 8. On the way I stopped and asked the ticket agent what was going on. He said the landing gear door had failed to close for landing and during the landing roll-out, about 4 inches of the door had been ground off! We got on the new plane and off we went.

We arrived in San Francisco on time and rather than kill 10 hours in the airport, our kids decided that they would take the opportunity to rent a car and see the "City on the Bay". Mom and I elected to stay at the airport and rest and read. Hours later the kids returned full of tales of their time exploring. We then boarded our flight to Reno and were anxious to attack all of the snow dumped by El Nino on the mountains around Lake Tahoe. We picked up our rental car and were off for Incline Village.

My son is a very good skier since he started at an early age. My daughter (actually step daughter) skied for the first time 3 years ago. She was scared to death of close places, elevators, high places, etc. How in the world was she ever going to get to the top of the mountain? And if she got there, how was she going to ski down? The courage which she exhibited was phenomenal. She wanted to ski so badly that she was willing to go through hell to do it. Her first lift ride, her first hill, her first tram ride, snowplow, stem christie, and all that other stuff that must come before you are a skier. I don't remember her ever protesting that she "couldn't do that" about anything. Now, in her third year (actually third week of skiing, each week a year apart) she is a tiger. Just let her at that mountain. Our first day we went to Squaw Valley - home of the 1960 Olympics. She couldn't wait to get on the tram and up the mountain. The deadly fear of three years ago was conquered. Ski down that hill. "What more do I need to learn", she asked after the first run. I told her that she now knew all she needed. The rest was just practice. She was jubilant. We skiied together and both had a ball.

Meanwhile, #1 son was attacking bowls, moguls and runs that went straight down at, what looked like, 60 degree angles. Dad used to do that once upon a time but many things now dictated that those areas be left to the younger skiers.

Poor old dad. Spend time with both kids but the endurance isn't what it used to be. Good excuse to go spend time with mom in the lodge.

We skiied several other areas on the following days. The night before our last day it snowed 24 inches. We went to Heavenly Valley the next day to give the kids an opportunity to ski on snow which hadn't been groomed. Skiing on two feet of new WET snow was a new experience for her.

When we weren't skiing, the time spent together was just as rewarding. Everyone pitched in to help make meals, clean up, and all the other necessary chores. Then we played games, talked or watched television.

Tracing our route back home didn't require a long sit in San Francisco. Our arrival at DFW was kind of bittersweet. We were all sorry it was over but happy and content that the time together had occurred.

This trip was every bit as exciting and enjoyable as the Alaskan cruise I took en femme. I am glad that I can enjoy both.

Diane Liegh
TX-4261-H