Brave! Me?

Since I started coming out a number of people have observed that they think I am brave, I always deny this, I am of the opinion that staying in the closet would have taken more courage.   To have kept my feelings hidden, to carry on pretending in order to protect other people from the truth and allow then t maintain their illusions, maybe that would have been brave.

Brave is risking your own life or welfare for somebody else, brave is taking a risk when the odds are against you, brave is selflessly putting others first.   No what have done may be called many things but not brave.

http://skin-horse.com/comic/we-offer/

I understand I have recently been the subject of some conversation at at least one of the pubs I frequent.   I gather that it was suggested that it was inappropriate for me to use the ladies facilities, the landlady slapped this idea down straight away, of course I suspect that the person voicing their concern was much more concerned about my very existence than where I pee!   Now I think that bearing in mind the way I dress most of the time it would take a lot more bravery to use the "gents" than the "ladies".

On Wednesday evening I played at the Fairfield Hall with the wonderful Croydon Symphonic Band, during the interval I used the facilities backstage and it crossed my mind that I had been performing there of and on for nearly 50 years and that this was the first time I had used the "Ladies'" there, yet it never crossed my mind that I should go into the gent's lift up my dress and use the urinals!