The beautiful sunny fall weekend with blue skies and bright sun provided yet another opportunity for me to do something “a bit challenging” for my current life as Melissa. I attended my homecoming festivities and first college football game as Melissa this past weekend at my alma mater- West Virginia University. The setting was perfect and the weather as delightful as one could expect for a fall October weekend. Paula and ventured over to Morgantown for the festivities with the assurance she would root for my alma in the battle with the Syracuse Orange despite her fixation with Big Ten and her alma mater Michigan State. I needed her support as well since I would be sitting in the same seats I have sat in for 19 years with a crowd of many who have set there for 19 years with me in that other mode I paraded around in until a few months ago.
We left Friday morning early as we were both scheduled for a round of electrolysis with my technician and friend Sharon. Paula will start using her when she moves down here fulltime at beginning of next month. She truly enjoyed meeting her and Sharon is a sweet kind wonderful person and electrolysis tech who works very hard and dos a superb job painfully removing the hair follicles from my face. From there we stopped and ate a Sonic and it was my first time eating there ever at a place Paula has a fondness for and the burger was delicious! We checked in our hotel and freshened up before heading into downtown Morgantown to watch the Homecoming parade. I always loved this event. This year the fraternities and sororities made floats depicting various countries and I love watching the alumni band march and perform and some of those guys carrying tubas and drums had a few years on them and the majorettes probably should not have been wearing the skirts at their ages but what they have they displayed proudly indeed. The current Mountaineer band is one of the largest and best performing college bands in America. I was particularly impressed with the fact that the LGBTQ college students marched in the parade with great pride and that is something I never saw in college there or until recent years to be honest. I was proud of them and Paula and I were among only handful that clapped for the group. It’s still progress. Following the parade, we proceeded to my favorite restaurant in Morgantown-Oliverios. If you ever find yourself there I highly recommend it! The food is phenomenal and some of the best Italian you can find for the very reasonable prices. However, the visit did result in an “incident which left a sour taste in my mouth for sure. We were waiting for out table by the bar when a “good friend” who has known me for twenty years and whose children were watched by my daughter and who I worked with came in to dine and saw me. She panicked and after making a few glances my way looked away and hid her head with her hand as she sat. When her husband arrived (who has known and worked with me for 23 years) a few minutes later they left to eat elsewhere just as our table was called. I am sorry they acted that way I really am. I will go anywhere I want to go and I am not ashamed of whom I am as a person but I was disappointed they acted that way. I was disappointed with their actions and I thought they were friends but I guess that was only when I was pretending to be someone I was not! I will miss them as friends but their actions spoke loud and clear to me. I am not someone to be ashamed of at all. I love who I am and I will never be ashamed for being Melissa. It is silly to be ashamed of who you are as a human being.
Saturday morning following breakfast we proceeded to the stadium for the noon kickoff. It was a beautiful sunny day and I guided us to my entrance on the east side of the stadium which is the same entrance the students enter on and I saw my son who did not see me. He is not ready to do so either so I stayed in the shadows of people until safely passed. It was so hard to do and I wanted to go over and hug him but I did not want to embarrass him and he is not even close to being ready. He looks so different from just a few months ago and I wonder how much of his life I will miss until we can reconnect again. Paula and I headed to my seats I have sat in for so very long. She kept saying I could leave now if I was not up to this task. I assured I was ready and confident although I had my doubts from time to time this past week. I mean the people who attend Mountaineer games are fanatical, usually heavily intoxicated from tailgating and lest face it – WV has a tendency to be bit redneck. I watched the pregame festivities and run onto the field and enjoyed watching my team I love play but it was a also different. I was calmer than I have ever been and while I cheered for them, I did not boo like many other’s did when the team played sluggishly and I did not get so wrapped up in it as well. It was fun and I enjoyed it as Melissa. The Eeers won this one (whoooooo hoooooooo) and no one said a word to me, either out of fear or they did not recognize me or they were occupied with the activity on the field. Whatever the reason I enjoyed doing something I always enjoyed doing but this time as who I truly am– Melissa. It’s a better and calmer way to enjoy the game and fun as well. A great day in the sunshine on a beautiful fall day and I look forward to my return in the future.
We left Friday morning early as we were both scheduled for a round of electrolysis with my technician and friend Sharon. Paula will start using her when she moves down here fulltime at beginning of next month. She truly enjoyed meeting her and Sharon is a sweet kind wonderful person and electrolysis tech who works very hard and dos a superb job painfully removing the hair follicles from my face. From there we stopped and ate a Sonic and it was my first time eating there ever at a place Paula has a fondness for and the burger was delicious! We checked in our hotel and freshened up before heading into downtown Morgantown to watch the Homecoming parade. I always loved this event. This year the fraternities and sororities made floats depicting various countries and I love watching the alumni band march and perform and some of those guys carrying tubas and drums had a few years on them and the majorettes probably should not have been wearing the skirts at their ages but what they have they displayed proudly indeed. The current Mountaineer band is one of the largest and best performing college bands in America. I was particularly impressed with the fact that the LGBTQ college students marched in the parade with great pride and that is something I never saw in college there or until recent years to be honest. I was proud of them and Paula and I were among only handful that clapped for the group. It’s still progress. Following the parade, we proceeded to my favorite restaurant in Morgantown-Oliverios. If you ever find yourself there I highly recommend it! The food is phenomenal and some of the best Italian you can find for the very reasonable prices. However, the visit did result in an “incident which left a sour taste in my mouth for sure. We were waiting for out table by the bar when a “good friend” who has known me for twenty years and whose children were watched by my daughter and who I worked with came in to dine and saw me. She panicked and after making a few glances my way looked away and hid her head with her hand as she sat. When her husband arrived (who has known and worked with me for 23 years) a few minutes later they left to eat elsewhere just as our table was called. I am sorry they acted that way I really am. I will go anywhere I want to go and I am not ashamed of whom I am as a person but I was disappointed they acted that way. I was disappointed with their actions and I thought they were friends but I guess that was only when I was pretending to be someone I was not! I will miss them as friends but their actions spoke loud and clear to me. I am not someone to be ashamed of at all. I love who I am and I will never be ashamed for being Melissa. It is silly to be ashamed of who you are as a human being.
Saturday morning following breakfast we proceeded to the stadium for the noon kickoff. It was a beautiful sunny day and I guided us to my entrance on the east side of the stadium which is the same entrance the students enter on and I saw my son who did not see me. He is not ready to do so either so I stayed in the shadows of people until safely passed. It was so hard to do and I wanted to go over and hug him but I did not want to embarrass him and he is not even close to being ready. He looks so different from just a few months ago and I wonder how much of his life I will miss until we can reconnect again. Paula and I headed to my seats I have sat in for so very long. She kept saying I could leave now if I was not up to this task. I assured I was ready and confident although I had my doubts from time to time this past week. I mean the people who attend Mountaineer games are fanatical, usually heavily intoxicated from tailgating and lest face it – WV has a tendency to be bit redneck. I watched the pregame festivities and run onto the field and enjoyed watching my team I love play but it was a also different. I was calmer than I have ever been and while I cheered for them, I did not boo like many other’s did when the team played sluggishly and I did not get so wrapped up in it as well. It was fun and I enjoyed it as Melissa. The Eeers won this one (whoooooo hoooooooo) and no one said a word to me, either out of fear or they did not recognize me or they were occupied with the activity on the field. Whatever the reason I enjoyed doing something I always enjoyed doing but this time as who I truly am– Melissa. It’s a better and calmer way to enjoy the game and fun as well. A great day in the sunshine on a beautiful fall day and I look forward to my return in the future.
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