Austin College

Well, I made it Dallas after 22 hours on the train (highlights to come) and was brought to Sherman, TX, which is the home of Austin College. We’ll be speaking to two classes tomorrow and then to another couple on 11/1, and later in the day I’ll be doing a talk that is open to the general public, so if you’re in the area, please come: you can find the where & when info on the college’s calender.

& Yes, you read “we” right: Betty is on her way here even as I type. I miss her a lot, a lot, a lot.

Praise for She’s Not the Man I Married (#3)

“Written from the rare perspective of the spouse of a transgender person, Helen Boyd’s new book is a daring love letter for her partner, their relationship, and any couple who has dared to love outside of the traditional gender script. Part journal, part queer studies, part liberation manifesto, Boyd fearlessly surrenders her own comfort zone to illustrate how there is a cost for everyone — trans or non-trans — to function in our world constructed by engendered expectations.”

—Abigail Garner, author of Families Like Mine

On the Train Again

I’m in the Chicago suburbs currently, staying with friends we met at the Be-All a couple of years ago, so while I’m somewhere with a computer, I thought I should say hi and update folks.

I had a great time speaking at Purdue, staying with Megan at a Best Western, and last night went to a Halloween party with my hosts. (It’s so lovely to be able to stay in someone’s home & not a motel room, let me tell you.) They even have a cat, a very very shy black cat, not quite two years old, named Ian. He apparently thinks I’m here to kill him, but he alternately lets me rub his belly. (Just going to show: all cats are crazy.)

I miss the boys, I miss cranky Aurora, and I miss Betty like crazy. I still won’t see her for another two days nearly – next I take the train (for 22 hours) to Dallas, and much, much later that night Betty will fly in so that we can speak to two classes at Austin College. The next day we speak to three more *and* I do a general talk for the college (& the public, who are free to come).

The train time has been great. Lots of staring out the window listening to music, and reading, and writing, and thinking in general. I’m looking forward to my sleeper car on the way to Dallas – more privacy, and a bed. Luckily, too, they announce stops that are long enough to go out on the platform for a cigarette (cigarettes are like $3/pack in Indiana!) but I’m not smoking much anyway. Which is good, & makes me wonder if I shouldn’t book two weeks or so on trains when I decide it IS time to quit.

Everything with me is otherwise well, and I do have a couple of new blurbs to post.

Playing Bully

The folks who brought us Grand Theft Auto are at it again, bringing kids (& one has to assume, some adults) a game called Bully – where the point is to bully or be bullied.

There are those who think that a game that makes “play” out of bullying is despicable. But in fairness it should be pointed out that this is not a shoot ‘em up game, and there are no guns or blood. Some experts believe it can be a healthy outlet for kids to get these sorts of fantasies out of their systems on the screen and not in the real world. On the other hand, the game shows that to survive the bully culture you need to become one.

I’m going to guess there is no way to bring about a peaceful solution to being bullied.

Ringtail


Sometimes Aurora comes to visit me when I’m trying to work, and doesn’t seem to notice she’s called at a bad time.

The Tranny Train Tour

Today I start what I’m calling my Tranny Train Tour (even though it really isn’t so much of a tour, really). First I take the train* to Chicago, where by hook or by crook I end up in Hammond, Indiana so I can speak to the folks at Purdue University about transness and diversity on 10/27. Then – gulp! – I take the train from Chicago all the way to Dallas, TX, and wind up at Austin College in Sherman, TX where I talk to people and classes there about transness and self-determination on 11/1. Betty will be joining me there for a few days, flying in & out of Dallas.
Then I do the whole train trip in reverse: Dallas back to Chi back to NYC.
I’ll be back during the first days of November.
& For those of you anywhere near Purdue/Calumet or Austin College, do come and say hi.
Continue reading “The Tranny Train Tour”