First up: I'm not sure she wanted me to say anything but a few people have asked so I feel obligated to let y'all know that Penny wrote me. Nothing nasty has happened but if you want to send her good vibes, I think that would be A Good Thing. Penny, if you have anything to say you can drop me a note and I'll echo it, or write a comment and I'll make sure it's seen. You have friends in the community.
The Friday before the swap I had a short break after work and before the fair, so of course, I used it to look for new clothes. I wanted to find a dress (always) and was looking for a casual top to maybe wear to a meditation-oriented Meetup. I never made it. I worked late on Monday, and met Vanessa on Tuesday and that was it for my short bachelorette time.
I knew there were a lot of discount clothing stores less than two miles east of my office. I'd been there before, when seeing customers. I didn't remember exactly where everything was though.
If you stand in the middle of the main intersection there you'd see Walmart to the southeast, Kohl's to the southwest, a shopping centre to the northeast, and another to the northwest.
I went to the northwest, just because it was closest and would (hopefully) offer variety.
I was somewhat disappointed. The most familiar name was TJ Maxx, which I don't mind. I spent most of my time there. They have several nice dresses in stock right now. By 'nice' I mean they have at least short sleeves, hems above the knee, a nice fit, colours I like, and low prices. The one that was different enough from what I own and I really liked was available in 8, 10, and 14. Not a 12 in sight.
The casual tops were mostly shells and looked like they belonged in the girls department, instead of misses. No sale.
From there I went to Avenue. I saw a few things I liked, but nothing in my size. I asked a saleslady if I was in the 'women's' side of the store and she told me it was a plus-size store. The smallest item they carry is a 14. I didn't know that! I also didn't see shoes. I suspect if they have plus size clothes, they'd have plus size shoes.
I could see a Ross Dress For Less in the next shopping center, and I think they have a Marshalls' and a Dress Barn as well. I didn't want to keep my son waiting at the fair, however, so I couldn't investigate at the moment. I'll be back.
One other thing.... After I parked, I saw a tall black woman who looked good but moved... oddly. I followed her as she walked to her car, but only caught a glimpse of her from the front. She looked good, but moved awkwardly. I think she was one of us. She had a short dress and long hair, and she did look GOOD.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
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"Every time a bell rings another angel gets his wings..." (It's a Wonderful Life).
ReplyDeleteI say that every time a CD gets out in public another ounce of freedom is bestowed on the rest of us.
I suspect that your 'T-Dar' may be more finely tuned than most but if your senses questioned the gender of the tall but oddly moving black woman then perhaps other shoppers had similar thoughts. Add to that the fact that "she did look GOOD". My thinking is that perhaps, with a few observers, the sighting of a good looking 'man in a dress' may serve to chip another small piece off the wall of fear and slowly and gradually lead to the acceptance of CDs in the civilian population.
I was able to get out last night so after dressing in a sleeveless top, brown denim skirt, hose and heels I drove to a "T-friendly" gay bar. I may have been the only CD in the place but had a few conversations with some of the other patrons. I suspect that in large measure CDs are not well understood by gays. I like to think that even in the safe confines of a gay bar I was doing a little educational outreach.
No finely honed 'T-Dar' was needed to read the big guy in a dress last night.
Pat