Previously...(Part 2) 

I mentioned that since the nearly two-year delay of writing in this blog about all that's happened with this world, and everything else. We're still going to hell in a handbasket, and we are crusin'! I lost a dear friend, even though I only met her once. We had chatted via social media numerous times over the years. Back when Yahoo! messenger was the shit! Had a lot in common such as a love of sports, as well as having similar back stories on our respective journeys to living our potential truths.

When I got to meet her at BTAC 2019 with her pal Dee Dee Watters in Dallas, I did scream my lungs off in sheer delight, though trying not to get any attention from the hotel patrons. It was my first BTAC event, and it was Monica herself that first told me about this gala of Black trans people back in 2016/17, somewhere around that time. I also knew about Dee Dee and her always-intriguing fingernails that she wore like a shield of pride. So many of us, proud of being Black and openly trans or non-binary. At the time, it was kinda like going to the Disneyland of Trans-ness! All shapes, sizes and ages. Yes, I definitely got to fit in, even though I can be shy as hell too. 

It was nice getting a surprise call from Monica during the pandemic to check on how I was doing. We talked for almost an hour. I was glad I had the day off from doing the cabbie thing. Little did I know that conversation would be the last time I would get to chat with this long-time advocate in the trans community. Upon hearing of her sudden passing just prior to my birthday in October 2020, my cabbie co-workers all saw the tears of sadness in my eyes. I hated crying over Monica's departure alone, so I got to contact another friend I've chatted over the phone over the years, Renea. They heard me crying on the phone, and we got to chat a while to get over the news. 

Fast forward four years later, at BTAC 2023, Monica's legacy was on basically everybody's mind. The first convention since the pandemic's demise, which was also the group's 10th anniversary, turned out to be the largest turnout ever. I saw old faces from years past, plus a host of new faces (and a good number of them from back home in Milwaukee--which, of course, as an MKE native, I liked). Of course, now that I was now a youthful elder of trans experience, I did feel a little overwhelmed with the plethera of first-timers, coupled with my mood over the recent passing of my eldest blood sister Charlotte just over a week earlier made me resort to the quiet solace of my hotel room--way in the back, next to the fire escape. It was TOO quiet in my room, with the Dallas skyline a good 7-10 miles view from the window. 

This photo here was from the BTAC '23 Family Day, now dedicated to Monica's memory. It was held at the same place as it was in 2019, the Circle R Ranch, Flower Mound,TX. Can't believe they actually had a goddam mechanical bull in attendance. Shame my ass was too damn big to ride this sucker. I would've loved to have ridden it and make the natural-born Texans look bad. Speaking of which, in 2019 I got to try Texas BBQ for the first time. I was thinking too much about how the weather was going to be once getting back to Rockford. There I was, first time in Texas, in 80-degree weather, staring at a longhorn laying out by a brook, and at the time, was SNOWING IN ROCKFORD!!! WTF?! The snow melted by time I had gotten back home, thankfully. Then the bout with the blood clots in my lungs surfaced. You should all know that story by now.

April 2023 I returned to the same place, same ranch. Old school music's playing, and an equally pleasant day compared to 2019 to be out. There were several cakes there, remembering Monica's memory. As in 2019, food was ready to consume! OK, Texas-made BBQ brisket with a side order of sauce. I took a bite...I was highly unhappy. This brisket was tough, unflavorful and most of all...dry. I've seen plenty of how-to cook brisket videos on YouTube, and what I just ate looked NOTHING like this!! Since it's Texas custom not to put sauce on the BBQ, but aside it, I gladly poured some on my food. GEEZ! I'm at an age where that sauce needs to be smoky-flavored, and had better stick to the ribs. I swear the sauce reminded me of old-school original flavored Open Pit BBQ sauce, plain and runny, like, oh I don't know...SOUP!

The emcee was galavanting aroud the hall, as he did the night before, at the Awards Gala. he came by where I was eating my grub, asking if everybody was enjoying their food. I murmured,"I've had better." He looked at me with a stupefied look on his face. "a Johnsonville brat tastes better than this!!", I shouted. Not that anyone there knew what the hell a Johnsonville Brat is. It maybe a regional thing, like the always scrumptious Blue Bell Ice Cream. One thing in common: good to the last bite, like Maxwell House!! Sometimes I think Texans are worse than cream puffs when it comes to food. Here in the Midwest, it might not be tourist-worthy, but we DO know what we like. I should also mention the Culver's that I saw in the DFW area in '19. This had made me wonder if someone down there ordered something unusual, such as cheese curds. They are quite popular back in the Badger State, aka America's Dairyland (see the license plates). I'd love to see a Texan ask someone working at Culver's asking, "What the hell are chese curds?" If a puzzled look came on that worker's face, I'd be back up North, laughing my CHEESEHEAD-LOVING ASS OFF!!!!