Views from a BrewTown Sista (aka The Chronicles of Kayleah H. Madison)

I've been putting off writing my final blog of 2015 until the right time. Oh, hell. I guess there never really is a right time to review the last 12 months. At the start of the year, I was in the process of having my front teeth pulled in order to get some dentures to finally smile again. Now as the year closes, I'm back in an apartment for the first time in nearly five years! Of course, the icing on this year's cake was seeing a longtime dream come true by legally becoming Kayleah. That was also later followed up by seeing my gender changed on my driver's license, too! The motel days are OVER!!! I never thought that I would return to driving a taxicab in this forsaken dump of a town. The last time I had driven a cab here i got the heave-ho. That was in 2008 with a small rinky-dinky company. Seven years later, here I am with yet another rinky-dinky company, only this one has an owner with some broken English continuity. Alas, it has helped with obtaining some threads, m...

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In the first 30-days since my legal name change to Kayleah H. Madison, I have downplayed the excitement of being a new person with a new identity and gender. I  go do my job driving a cab for a third-rate taxi company, conversate with the passengers, collect the dough, and eventually gas up. Obviously  I  do use the women's  restroom - and get the hell out of there before some cry baby overprotective  God- fearing parent expects the worst while I  am doing my business! My customers  do refer to me in the correct pronouns, like she, her, ma'am, and of course, a woman. Good. Makes me feel  better about myself. Every November  24 is usually a somber day for me. Those who've  read my older bogs knows what I'm  talking about. To those newcomers of my blog, that's the day my mother was called home. For many years I  blamed myself for saying the hurtful comments the very last time I  spoke to her. One Sunday a few years back, I ...

So, on 10/7, I officially became Kayleah Hutchins Madison . WHOOPEE!!! Then, the celebration eventually wears off, and I  get back to driving that crappy taxicab until I  get a  new gig....and eventually, a new apartment. I just got my driver's  license  to fully show my new name ....and gender. I can't  say that many natural-born women speak with a low tone of voice or wear makeup on a daily basis. No, I'm not going to  start wearing pumos...my feet need to be comfortable when I roll! Nevertheless, I am now a legal woman....of trans decent, of course! The name and gender change is one of the pinnacles that I wanted to  accomplish  in 2015. Of course starting with my new set of teeth for my smile, then finding this cab gig after  being out of work for years, a return trip to the Chicago Pride Parade, and most recently, I am in the process of getting  something you  badly need in a town like this: a set of wheels. So it's...

This coming Wednesday, October  7, 2015, one saga of my life will come to an end. On the other hand, something will finally become a reality. Being my seldom masculine self has been moderate at best. However, I knew I was different since childhood, and at times I couldn't help myseĺf being someone else. I have  mentioned this many times before in previous blogs. It's always nerve-wracking at first. Later on, it becomes a part of you. Then, you see yourself AS that person, and you don't want the old life you once had. This transition always came with a price; family, job, house, or even your  life. I took my chances abruptly relocating to the Rockford area from my beloved native Milwaukee in 1999; my family  basically  gave a damn and all but severed ties with me. Didn't even come home for my dad's  funeral in 2007. My choice. 17 years after first arriving here, I'm finally comfortable  with my feminine  identity. Next week, my name will offi...