Publish or Perish

Looks like the twits on the board have backed me into a corner. I will have to post an update. It's bad enough that they call me Chairman Wow behind my back, but they keeping holding the promise of a golden parachute over my head. Dance, puppet, dance. At least they don't call me Chairman Yow. Or worse, Chairman Ciao. I prefer Madame Chairperson, truth be known.

Anyway, it has been a rough year to date. My wife's father had been struggling with lung cancer for the better part of a year, and finally succumbed a couple weeks ago. The stress of the last three months has finally relented. I think anyone who has watched these slow fades will understand that the sadness is greatly tempered by a sense of relief at the end. Things are largely back to our version of normal now.

The support group is carrying on, of course. Meeting attendance continues to be disappointing, but we will have a new website up in the next few days (fingers crossed), plus the Facebook group is being relaunched as well. I am lucky to have some very enthusiastic members with the talent to address these things. I have the willingness, but little to no knowledge of how to make them happen. Once the website is up, I hope to be able to assist with adding to the resource page, an area that has been sorely lacking.

The nerves I had about leading a meeting have faded rapidly. I don't really give it a thought now. I am more comfortable being me fully, and engaging others. I was always the sidekick before, throwing in a quick quip, the same as in my male life. As Leslie, I am carrying the conversation more, drawing out shy newbies to share with the group, or even one on one. I am embracing the leader role.

I am still unsure how I am going to do the public part of the job. We will have a booth at Lexington's Pride Festival in June, and there are LGBT events at the university too. I cannot do them. I am not a public figure or figurehead. I need to expand my team to include folks who are ready to be the face of the group. I am merely the brains!

Well, I hope this satisfies the board. Until the next arm twisting, see ya.

Announcement

Greetings,

Your friends/corporate masters at LeslieCo would like to apologize for the continuing absence of Dear Leader.

It has been a hectic year to this point. Even when present here on company grounds, her mind was frequently elsewhere. Heading a corporate enterprise like this is quite taxing, except in America, where corporations pay little to no tax. Sorry, off subject.

Our namesake has been occupied with the nurturing of her TransKentucky support group. A new website will be launched soon, and a Facebook group will be back online as well. She did not do this herself, rather found others to do this for her. Ah, leadership.

She has informed the board that she has intentions of writing a genuine blog post in the coming days. Good intentions, road to hell, etc. We'll see. Maybe when she finally takes a break from playing Fallout 3.

Yours in third person,
LeslieCo

Getting my Footing

I have led four meetings now as president of my support group. I am finally beginning to feel like I have some authority and have earned some respect.

The turning point was a couple days before the most recent meeting. As you may know, I work evenings and don't get to bed till 5am. That night about 1:45, a curse-filled tirade appeared on our listserv. This was from a frequent poster, but out of character, especially the length of the missive. She was going on about our most prominent local endocrinologist, and questioning the dosing habits of said doctor. The post was long and repetitive, and essentially accused anyone supportive of the doc's methods to be idiots.

Within fifteen minutes, I had a reply posted. I told her that she had made her point several times. That I don't have a dog in the fight, as I have never started HRT, but that the doctor is a friend of the group. That I don't question her right to dissatisfaction and even anger. However, if she cannot share her feelings with a civil tongue or without insulting her peers, then she would lose her posting privileges. Given no immediate second salvo, I was hopeful that this was someone having a bad day, and was now sleeping it off.

Early the next afternoon, there was a response. This time her ire was directed at me. She questioned why I supported this doctor. She wondered how I could be president if I am allowing people to see this horrible doctor. She said that I don't care enough to warn new transitioners away from this doctor. That is when something in me snapped. Maybe I grew a pair.

I wrote a long post of my own, sharing how I really never wanted the presidency, but as the last tran standing in leadership, I had it forced on me. This group's existence is way too important for me to walk away and leave it rudderless. I wrote about the many challenges that I face in my regular life, and that I get no reimbursement for this thankless job. I bit my tongue several times, and kept the message coherent and civil (no small challenge).

Later in the day, she quietly asked to be removed from the group. I won the battle without disgracing the office. I felt...presidential.

This was reiterated at the meeting. I decided to mention the event, as everyone had been reading it, and many had weighed in. Several supported the view of the banished party regarding the doctor's practices, but they did so in a tone that was respectful. Mostly, though, I was complimented on my tactful but forceful handling of the situation.

I even got to try out my new status at the meeting, when two members got into a shouting match regarding Trump and Clinton. I yelled over them to knock it off, take it outside or stop arguing about politics.

The only way I could feel more presidential is if I tweeted my order at them.