My Trans Friends
"A brother may not be friend, but a friend will always be a brother."
--Benjamin Franklin
"I can't explain it, some people just feel like home."
--John Cusack in High Fidelity
PERRY: I remember when Gregory bought this place. I was dead against it. No one for miles and miles. We could be the last eight people on Earth.
BUZZ: That's a frightening thought.
JAMES: Not if you're with the right eight people.
--from Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally
I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you
Like a comet pulled from orbit
As it passes a sun
Like a stream that meets a boulder
Halfway through the wood
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
It well may be
That we will never meet again
In this lifetime
So let me say before we part
So much of me
Is made of what I learned from you
You'll be with me
Like a handprint on my heart
And now whatever way our stories end
I know you have re-written mine
By being my friend
Like a ship blown from its mooring
By a wind off the sea
Like a seed dropped by a skybird
In a distant wood
...
Who can say if I've been changed for the better?
(I do believe I have been changed for the better)
But because I knew you
I have been changed for good
--from "For Good," Wicked: the Musical
Our weekend at the True Spirit 2001 conference: click here
Our week in August 2001 together: click here.
Adam is the token Irishman. I've had the privilege of watching this guy grow and mature as he comes out and transitions, and hope we can hang out on both sides of the pond sometime soon! We're Eddie Izzard/Doctor Who/Torchwood buddies, which gives us lots to talk about!
Pictures coming soon!
Caden is great fun. He's a sweet guy and it's great to have him local again, not far away at school.
Charley is great fun and is my Eddie Izzard and Newsies buddy up in Maine. He's busy working these days but I can't wait till we have more time to hang out!
This is my Cole, from New Jersey but currently living in North Carolina. This boy is my brother for life, and we have the matching tattoos to prove it. I love him to death. When he's a famous filmmaker, he better remember his little brother up in the frozen Northland, who proofread his papers back in the day.
Erik and I grew up round the corner from each other but didn't meet until we were in our teens. We think there's something in the water round here. He goes to school just far enough away that it's hard to get together to hang out, but when he's home on holiday it's so nice to see him! He has an excellent command of English and his witticisms always make me laugh.
Hal is up at UVM in Vermont. He always has had an ear and a shoulder for me, and I don't think I tell him enough how much I appreciate that. He's busy doing tons of great activist work and being a full-time student, but hopefully we'll get to hang out again soon!
I miss my buddy Lace so much. I got to spend a week with him in August 2003 and it was brilliant, and now I miss him hardcore. Everyone needs to check out his company, Furry Friends Web Design.
Nathaniel is my other half and my best friend, sadly living far away from me in the UK. I am so blessed to have this boy in my life. He's great fun to talk to and always there for me, and we finally met after two years when he came to the US for top surgery in March 2006. He spent September 2006, March 2007, November 2007, and June 2008 with me, which has been absolutely amazing every time. We're planning for me to visit him in England in January 2009.
TJ and I have been friends for a while, despite having spent minimal time together! He's always been living a million miles away, but has recently taken a job at the University of Vermont, which is much closer. Hopefully we'll have lots of adventures soon! This guy inspires the hell out of me with all his tireless activist work, his insight, and the love and energy he brings to everything he does. If I were planning to grow up, I'd want to grow up to be just like TJ.
Zach is completely adorable. He's been chatting in Yay for Queers for ages, and I always have loads of fun talking to him. Sadly he lives all the way across the country in southern California, but hopefully we can hang out sometime soon!
on: Wednesday, 23 July 2008.