"DO YOU WEAR THONGS?"



BY MELINA STEVENS

Lake Erie Gala 2000 for me, in some ways, began months beforehand. Since I
helped Lisa Kelly with the brochure and Welcome Packet, I had already spent
hours talking with Lisa on the phone and helping her plan what needed to be
done. In some ways, I told Lisa, I felt like her personal executive secretary.

I arrived in Erie on Wednesday at 1 PM after flying in from Fort Lauderdale.
Lisa picked me up at the airport. Amber Nicole Richards met us at Lisa's house;
we then dropped by an Office Depot to make copies of the Welcome Packet. We
also did some shopping (in male mode) at the MillCreek Mall. Crossdressers
often walk into stores to browse, but there were three of us. I imagined some
store clerks thinking: “Oh my god. They're starting to hang out in packs now.”

Our last stop was Chic Wigs, where I bought a new wig after trying on about
half the wigs in the store. We grabbed a bite to eat and went to the Holiday
Inn, where Lisa made last minute arrangements with the Holiday Inn staff. We
checked into our rooms and headed down to the banquet room, where we put the
Welcome Packets together and worked on the name tags. Carole from Pittsburgh
dropped by to help us. We also were joined by a nice girl from Oklahoma.

Rooming with Lisa was a trip. I roomed alone in 1999, but staying with another
person was so much more fun. To be honest, girls, I was somewhat hesitant,
because I have a certain set routine. I also never thought there would be
enough room for all of her clothes and mine! Well, I was wrong. Rooming
with Lisa was a lot of fun. If you have the chance to room with a girlfriend, I
definitely recommend it. We helped each other and were there for advice about
what looked good and didn't. At one point I was half-dressed when Lisa asked me
to help her with a necklace clasp. As I stood there, I couldn't help but wonder
what in the world people would think if they could see two crossdressers
helping out each other like that. Back at the room one night (it was late),
Lisa wanted to drink a little and talk. My mind was willing, but my body
wasn't. Lisa had to go out for a couple of minutes to get some ice or Coke.
When she returned, she found her late-night conversation partner fast asleep.

Thursday arrived and Lisa and I were down at the banquet rooms early to meet
everyone. Girls filtered in one-by-one throughout the day. Some showed up in
male mode, which struck me as interesting. I guess they just wanted to make
sure we were all here and that the gala was really on. I tried to talk to as
many girls as possible and remember meeting JoAnn, a nice girl who was
making her first outing in years. She told me she had made friends with a girl named
Barbara, but they had never met. We ordered take out and ended up over at
The Zone, where we danced and went through beers like pairs of pantyhose.
The bartender/DJ was stressed, but we definitely took over the place.
When he played our club theme song, I was the happiest person in the place.

Connie suggested hitting a straight nightclub. I was hesitant, but decided to
throw caution to the wind. We went as a group, including Lisa, Marsha, Rachel,
Connie and some of the other girls from Virginia. When we walked in, the place
was packed. As we tried to make our way to the back of the room, the line
stopped. One young woman in her 20s was standing next to me, but trying her
best not to look at us. She had a question mark look on her face,
like “What are they doing here?” I leaned over and said, “We're crossdressers.”
She then looked at me and said, “I know.” We met a lesbian in her late
teens or early 20s, Skittles, a great girl who loved the fact that we were
there. She thought it was great we were out like that and welcomed
us with open arms. If I had been more sober, I might have asked her for
an e-mail address. In any event, just meeting Skittles made my evening.

Connie and I danced and had a great time. We got separated from the girls,
who left for The Village. As we were walking back, two guys pulled up in a
car and offered us a ride. They read me right away, but weren't quite sure
about Connie. “I’m a girl,” she told them. I'm not sure they were persuaded,
but they left us alone and went on their way. The other girls eventually
picked us up, saving us from the cold (it wasn't that bad). When I woke
up Friday, I said, “Thursday was such a blast, how am I going to top that.”

The Penn Shore Winery tour was fun. Even though I didn't think much of the
wines a year ago, I was much more impressed this year. I don't know if the
wines got better or just if my tastes just changed. We went shopping at the
Eastway Plaza Fashion Bug, which was a blast. It was my first time shopping
en femme in a regular store (I had been to consignment shops before). I purchased
a watch and a black dress, which I wore Friday night. The staff was wonderful.
Some of us then trekked across the parking lot to the coffee shop. I ended
up losing (temporarily) a heel. Trust me, the only women within two miles
of us wearing high heels that cold day were all members of our group.

I was the tour guide Saturday for the Watson-Curtze Mansion and Erie Maritime
Museum tours, both of which were great. Just before the tour, I interviewed
Grae Phillips for a story for the newsletter. It was the first time I ever
interviewed anyone en femme. It was strange feeling, but one I still enjoyed.

I think we'll skip the Erie Art Museum next year, but the rest of the tours
were interesting. That night, after the banquet, Lisa and I headed over to
Dominick's for breakfast with Marsha, Amber and some of the other girls. We
didn't have enough room in any car, but we persuaded the hotel's shuttle to
take us over there. I'm not sure what happened next, but we ended up giving a
ride to two pretty college girls. While one went to the bathroom, the other one
negotiated with Lisa for a ride. To make a long story short, when the other
girl got back, she found herself in a shuttle with several crossdressers. The
word surreal comes to mind. She was having as hard time dealing with it. I think
she had heard of crossdressing, but didn't understand it. Her girlfriend didn't
have a problem. At one point, though, she asked us, “Do you wear thongs?”

As much as we tried to explain who we are, she just freaked out the entire
time. After getting back to the hotel, it was late, but four or five of us hung
out in the lobby talking. I don't even remember what we chatted about, but it
was fun. At one point the lobby lights, which had been turned off, were turned
around. I guess it was around 4:30 or so. I opened the door for one employee
coming to work. One of us remarked, “You know, I've closed a few bars
before, but I’m pretty damn sure this is the first time I’ve closed a hotel lobby.”