Inspiring Others

[Anonymous]

Last night, my wife and I joined close friends for dinner at a mutually favorite seafood restaurant, and since our friends also know me as Sally, that’s the way I usually present when we get together.  We parked the car down the street from the restaurant and as we were walking up to the entrance, a woman was standing just outside the door.  I made eye contact with her and she smiled at me, so, I smiled back.  I assumed the way she looked at me, she recognized me as trans, but beyond that, I didn’t give our extremely brief encounter another thought.

We had arrived early, but since the bar area was packed, we asked if we could get our table and wait for our friends there.  The restaurant, of course, obliged, and they escorted my wife and I to a table in the middle of the dining area.  Our friends arrived about ten minutes later.  I should point out that one of those friends is also trans and she transitioned about a year ago.

So, we ordered dinner and drinks, caught up and generally had a great time visiting.  Our server had just cleared the table of our dinner plates when all of a sudden, a woman appeared at our table.  It took me a couple of seconds to recognize her as the same woman we’d passed entering the restaurant.  She was holding her smart phone, and at first, I thought she was going to try and take my picture, but instead, she apologized for the intrusion, and proceeded to tell me how brave I was.  She went on to say I was the first trans woman she’d ever met, and she thought I was courageous for being myself.

I suppose I could have been put off by the fact that she was kind of outing me in a public place, but honestly, she was being discreet by keeping her voice low.  She’d actually kneeled down close to me, so that only I could hear her comments.  So, instead of being bothered, I treated the encounter as an opportunity for outreach.  Then she stood, apologized again to all of us for interrupting our meal, but before she left she told me that my courage had given her strength and had given her the incentive to be who she wanted to be.

Of course, everyone else at the table was intrigued by her comments, and I knew they were all curious about the bits they couldn’t hear.  Before the woman could walk away, though, my trans friend spoke up revealing that she too was trans.  I could tell the woman was shocked, but that wasn’t surprising since my friend passes extremely well.  And then, the woman apologized again and walked off.

After she left, I did in fact, have to relate the entire conversation to my wife and my friends.  My wife was particularly curious.  I found it fulfilling and rewarding that my feminine presentation had actually inspired someone else to be brave and to express themselves honestly.  For a few moments after the encounter our table was very quiet, but as you can imagine, in no time it sparked a rousing conversation.

Hugs,

Sally

 

[Dame Veronica Graunwolf]

Sally, thank you for sharing a very interesting story. Perhaps the lady is a CD or has a friend who is. The occurence seemly went very well. Wish all such encounters could be so refreshing.

Lady Veronica

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