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\f0\fs24 \cf0 My name is Pat. I got lots of stories. I came into this world different.
I knew I was different. But yet again, they put you in a box. You\'92re either male or
female. So they put me in the female category, but I didn\'92t think I was. I went to school,
then my dad got me a job and there I stayed. He said \'93Just come and get the job, come
and get a car.\'94 Four cars later, that\'92s my passion, cars, and still I didn\'92t know
who Pat was. Still didn\'92t know the word lesbian, didn\'92t know the word gay until
they told me \'93let\'92s go out to the bar\'94 I said \'93what bar are we going to\'94 \'93let\'92s
just go out\'94 So they started making fun of the gay people. Ok. So of course you\'92re
in there with a bunch of people you have to go do what they do. Nobody got hurt ok, nobody
got hurt. But the next day I was there at that bar. That\'92s when things started to
get going. Still I didn\'92t categorize myself as gay, lesbian, I just didn\'92t know where
I fit. But I just went. Then I met a girl that wrote the book \'93Transgender Voices\'94
that\'92s when everything started. So then I went \'93ah there\'92s a word for it? I
didn\'92t know.\'94 So that\'92s when everything started, here I am, almost fifty years. Went
to the doctor which i\'92ve had for almost twenty-five years. I said \'93this is what
I want to do.\'94 He says \'93damn it took you a long time to get here!\'94 And I\'92m
like \'93what?!\'94 I said \'93everyone knew before I did?\'94 He said \'93here\'92s what
you need to do\'94 So off I go into counseling and the guy says \'93you don\'92t need any
counseling, but we have to go through the preliminaries and everything.\'94 Started
the testosterone and everything and then I have to deal with my mother. That was the
most difficult because things were starting to change. I had to shave to see my mother.
Thank god that I kept getting sick so when the voice started dropping she didn\'92t say
anything. But she knew there was something going on. But out of respect I didn\'92t say
anything. Two months ago I lost my mother, but she did see me. She touched me and I asked
her \'93what\'92s up\'94 she\'92s not a touchy-feely person. I said \'93what are you doing mom?\'94
She said \'93I just want to touch you\'94 and she starts pulling on the sideburns. So
in my mind i\'92m saying \'93Oh yeah they\'92re real\'94 but yeah that was the last time that
she talked. I am thinking that it was ok. My dad said \'93you have to take care of all
this stuff\'94 and I said \'93ok I will\'94 and papers were signed and everything. I come
back I said \'93Dad I just wanted to tell you that it\'92s signed by your son\'94 and
he looked at me and says, by this time i\'92m not shaving or anything and he says \'93well,
you\'92re still mine\'94 So that\'92s the point when I got the sign that they knew too
before I did. So here I go to the funeral and sure you\'92re always afraid of losing
your family and stuff and it was really kinda strange because everybody knew except me.
So I got accepted, I did not lose my family. But the thing is that they still call me \'93she\'94.
You gotta choose your battles. Your family, they accept you, but i\'92m fortunate that
I didn\'92t lose everything.}