The Crystal Cronicle


Vol 8 No 11, October 1996, Copyright (c) 1996 by The Crystal Club, Columbus, OH, Sarah, Editor in Chief

CONTENTS


Sarah's Forward, March 2015 , by Sarah
Crystal Chronicle Changes Hands , by Sarah
Change in Dues Policy
Crystal Club Halloween Weekend in the Park , by Sarah
Three New Attendees at September Meeting , by Sarah
Cathy's Corner , by Cathy Wood
Christmas Dinner at Cookers , by Sarah
Dianna's Adventures at Southern Comfort , by Dianna
Salad Bar , by Joyce

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FORWARD

Do you have any questions or comments? Would you like to submit an announcement or article for publication? Please email me.

Sarah's Forward, March 2015

by Sarah

Well hello! You're actually reading the first newsletter I edited, now almost 20 years old? I hope you enjoy it. I remember fondly all the friends I made back then. It was a very turbulent time in my life, and I wouldn't have made it through without a lot of support from my sisters!

I am writing this postscript to explain the removal of my last name from all of my newsletter issues. At the time I was very "out" and politically active. I suppose I am still "out" to an extent, as much of my material exists all over the Internet. I'm sure I will never disappear from the cyber-landscape. I am gratified that some of my work as an activist still has meaning and is still worthy of reprinting.

I am long since retired from activism. I put in my 4 years of hard work as a soldier for the cause, but I am not career military. I eventually grew battle-weary. I decided I had done enough, and it was time for a new generation to pick up the banner and continue the fight. And they've fought brilliantly!

Moving on with my life, I had my surgery, met the love of my life, moved to a kinder and gentler place, bought my dream home, and am seeking to make the world a better place through art. I am "out" in the Southern way -- openly living my life, but not being loud about it. I'm older and don't "pass" as well as I once did, so I assume a few people suspect (and perhaps some have figured out) I'm a transsexual. And I think everyone should have figured out I'm a lesbian. However, in the Southern way, nobody talks about it. It's all good.

In my later, quieter life, I could not hope to erase the memories of my civil rights work from the Internet, nor would I really want to. I'm very proud of the battles I fought. However, it is probably a good idea to make myself less searchable with regard to the Crystal Chronicle, because I wrote and shared quite a lot of very personal information in this publication. So for the sake of the Chronicle, I am now just "Sarah." (It is interesting that I had erased or modified the last names of others in a similar manner, and for similar reasons, while still editor. We are all so searchable in this modern world!)

So please know that I am well, and I hope you are all well too. To my transsexual sisters, don't be afraid to become the person you need to be. You will suffer losses, but you will gain a life worth living and enjoying. It's not an easy road to walk, but it's at least walkable. I think I've gotten to the stage in my life that I have forgotten my pre-transition misery and have a hard time remembering what all of the fuss was about. And I'm actually happy now.

Crystal Chronicle Changes Hands

by Sarah

You've probably noticed that the Crystal Chronicle has a new look. It seems that Adrianne, de facto president and former editor of this publication needed seriously to lighten her load. She's been doing the newsletter now, well, I guess forever (at least since before my time). After such long and tireless service to the club, she is passing the pen to yours truly, Sarah.

I take on this task somewhat reluctantly. There is a lot going on in my life at the moment, so this is yet one more thing I don't have time to do. I'll make a commitment to the club to get out at least something every month, although it may very brief, consisting only of announcements and such. (Cathy and Dianna helped me kick things off with a couple of submissions, and we still had Joyce's submission to print from the previous month. Thanks!) If you want to have a real newsletter, I'll need your contributions. This is your paper. Anything you want published will be published, assuming it meets with club policies. You may submit your thoughts, advice, adventure stories, announcements, poetry, artwork (B&W without gray scales, of course), or anything else you think others would want to see. You might also submit articles and news items from other sources (e.g. makeup and fashion tips).

The very best way to submit something is via email. Just send it to me in plain (ASCII) text, and I'll do the rest. The second best way is by floppy disk (any IBM format), mailed to the club P.O. box. If you can't do that, then just mail a printed or legibly handwritten copy. I have a very hard act to follow, as Adrianne has been a splendid editor. With your help, I will do my best to continue with her same standards of excellence.

Change in Dues Policy

Because of the complexity of keeping track of dues renewal dates for so many people, we have decided to revert to our old system of collecting dues every January. To shift into this new payment schedule, dues will be prorated to the subsequent January throughout the remainder of 1996 and 1997. The yearly dues will be increased slightly from $40 to $42, so that the prorated membership fee will be $3.50 per month. Check your mailing label for your membership expiration date. At that time, you will need to pay the following prorated dues:

Due Date Amount Due Paid Until 10/96 $10.50 1/97 11/96 7.00 1/97 12/96 3.50 1/97 1/97 42.00 1/98 2/97 38.50 1/98 3/97 35.00 1/98 4/97 31.50 1/98 5/97 28.00 1/98 6/97 24.50 1/98 7/97 21.00 1/98 8/97 17.50 1/98 9/97 14.00 1/98

Crystal Club Halloween Weekend in the Park

by Sarah

This month, the Crystal Club has reserved two cabins at the Deer Creek State Park for the weekend of October 25th and 26th. All members are invited to attend. Lodging will be up to 6 people per cabin. Cabins have two bedrooms each, one with a double bed, and one with two twin beds. The couch also pulls out to make a double bed. Cost per person will be $25 per night. Each cabin has cooking facilities and tableware. The park lodge has a very good restaurant. Park personnel seemed receptive to our group and do not anticipate any problems. A lounge is also available at the lodge. Meals will not be provided by the group. Please plan on bringing something on a pot luck basis or eating at the lodge. By the way, there's also a crafts fair on Saturday which should be a lot of fun. Be there or be square!

Those of you not interested in sleeping over may pay the usual $10 meeting fee and join the group either Friday or Saturday. Of course, if you change your mind and decide to stay the night, space will probably be available. We only ask that you contribute another $15 (totaling $25) towards the cabin. Bring a change of clothes just in case.

Directions: Exit from I-71 at Exit #83, Mt. Sterling-London Exit (Rt. 56). Go east on Rt. 56 3.2 miles to 2nd traffic light in Mt. Sterling. Turn right on Rt. 207. Follow Rt. 207 3.8 miles, and turn left into park. (Rt. 207 goes left at a fork at the south end of Mt. Sterling.) After turning into the park, go 1.5 miles and turn right, following signs saying, "TO LODGE". Go 2.5 miles to the Lodge. The road to the cabins will be on the right just before the Lodge. At this time, we don't know the cabin numbers that will be assigned to us (not assigned until arrival). Upon check in, we will try to put the cabin numbers on the club phone line. If you like (could be fun), go to the reception desk in the lodge and ask for the cabin numbers, or simply drive back to the cabin area. There are only about 20 cabins, and we will put a large "C" and the cabin number in the rear window of one of the cars. Look for a light green Thunderbird. Approximate driving times: 30 min from Downtown Columbus, 35 min from OSU campus, 45 min from Port Columbus Airport.

Three New Attendees at September Meeting

by Sarah

The September meeting was a bit unusual. Only two regulars showed up at first -- myself and Cathy. It seems that most of the others had someplace else they had to go. This was all ironic, as I hadn't been able to attend meetings for the prior few months and had finally arranged with Lisa's daughter for baby-sitting, so that I not only could attend but could actually stay late. I think this will be an ongoing arrangement, so I won't be making any more hasty departures as my Saturn turns back into a pumpkin.

Finally, a total of three people came, and they were all first-timers! The first was a very sweet preoperative TS by the name of Jennifer. She was considering going by another name, but we all thought she looked so much like a "Jennifer" that we convinced her to stay that way. The second was an impeccably dressed woman named Sue. She didn't say much, as she might have been a bit nervous, but we hope to see her back at the next meeting. The third was Carey, who seemed quite at home with us and with whom we had a lovely chat. We said it once, but we'll say it again -- Welcome! We're glad to have you and hope to see you at future meetings.

At long last, reinforcements arrived. Jannie arrived en femme, having left her apartment for the first time dressed. (Congratulations!) Then came Maryanne and Marci. Marci was wearing a beautiful red dress with very pretty white lace, and Maryanne was sporting a "Transsexual Menace" "T"-shirt. We all chatted into the wee hours of the morning. I think I finally left at about 3:00 AM, my job being to lock the building and return the key! Wow! That was about 6 hr longer than my usual stay! I went home very tired but very satisfied not only to have been with my good friends but to have made three new ones.

Cathy's Corner

by Cathy Wood


Hi All,

In an effort to do my part towards keeping Sarah sane as she takes over the duties of editor, I'm going to try to keep this space up on an ongoing basis. In the future I'll try to crib bits and pieces from here and there and share the tranny oriented stuff I've found on the web as well as reports on clubs doings and upcoming events. If you know of an upcoming event or interesting bit of news the other gals would enjoy let me know and I'll include it here.

One of the big events coming up of course is the Halloween outing at Deer Creek. The club has reserved two cabins and as I write this, we aren't close to filling them up. If you think you might be interested in staying overnight and are already planning to come for the meeting, why don't you throw together an overnight bag and leave your options open. For a mere $15 more than your regular meeting fee you can join us in an overnight adventure. If you're not planning to come for the meeting on Saturday, why not? This is an opportunity to spend more time en femme than our regular meetings! Since some of us are arriving on Friday night, you can meet us there Saturday for most of the day. There's an arts and craft show at the same time so don't forget to pack a little extra cash in your purse in case you want to do some Christmas shopping and don't forget dinner at the lodge, Joyce and Linda won't. Who knows, maybe someone else will find true love at the salad bar this year. (French maid outfit optional) To find us look for Dianna's light green T-bird or my big blue Chevy van, the one with the feminist bumper sticker.

Are you online? The Crystal Club is! Yes, thanks to Mary Ann, we now have an official web site. If you have web access check it out. The URL is:

http://www.geocities.com/WestHollywood/4398/

If you know someone with a gender page who wants to link to us, tell them we'd love it. You can reach Mary Ann at mah@stargate.com (which is also the "official" e-mail address of the Club).

If you are online and on hormones and would like to join a closed mailing list about hormones email Tasha at tasha@uncle.org . This list is for the discussion of hormone therapy for pre-ops, post-ops, post-op GG's and post menopausal womyn. No politics etc., just good solid sharing of information vital to those of us on the 'mones or who are thinking about it. Lurking is not permitted. You must post every once and a while. "Much Ado About 'Mones" is a high volume list and you might want to ask for it as a daily digest. Tell Tasha that Cathy sent you.

Ok, we all look at those tabloids while waiting in the checkout line. Soon they'll be a reason to buy one. A good friend of mine named Janet Fletcher is going to be featured in the "Sun". The piece is scheduled to run in the November 5 1996 edition. Jan is a post-op TS who with her spouse have outed themselves as a legal same sex lesbian couple in order to be available as a test case against DOMA. She's read the article and said it wasn't bad although the headline left a bit to be desired. Check her out in the Sun.

We're hoping to finalize the plans for our Christmas meeting on December 7 in the next week. It looks like we'll be having dinner at Cookers restaurant, be sure to keep the date open. All the details will be in the November newsletter so plan to attend. For those of you who are new, the club has been there before with no problems whatsoever. This is your big chance to step out on the town a bit and get your feet wet in the world. Don't forget that we traditionally give dolls to the Women's Shelter at our Christmas Party instead of a gift exchange. This has been greatly appreciated in the past.

Just a reminder, the Christmas meeting is the next regular meeting after Deer Creek, but as usual some of us will be at the UU Church (Weisheimer location) on the second Friday of November. We would love to see more of you at these meetings, it's a great time to just talk and get to know each other better and support each other. Newbies are reminded that they can come in "drab" (boy clothes) if they are still shy about going out en femme. Someone is usually there by 7:30.

Hope to see you at Deer Creek!

Cathy

Christmas Dinner at Cookers

by Sarah

Cathy and I were chatting on the phone a couple of nights ago about what to do for our Christmas dinner. Because of the organizational nightmare of a "pot luck" dinner, we and Adrianne were considering the possibility of going to a restaurant. After getting input from various members, we decided that Cookers (on 5225 East Main) would be a great place to meet. Although it's not "fine dining", the atmosphere is comfortable, and the food is reasonably good. Moreover, about a dozen Crystal Club members had dinner there some time ago, and all went quite well. Both the management and the other customers were quite nice.

I called the Cookers management and put the question to them as to whether they would mind our attending there or anticipate any problems, and they said very matter-of-fact-ly that they thought it would be just fine. That really put a smile on my face. It's simply one more affirmation that as long as we present ourselves decently and respectfully, others will react mostly with tolerance and acceptance.

Anyway, it's a date! Our preliminary plans are: On Saturday, December 7, 5:30 PM, we'll open up the Unitarian Universalist Church in Reynoldsburg so that people can gather and get changed. At 7:00, we'll go en masse to Cookers for dinner. Although most people are quite excited about going to a restaurant for dinner, some undoubtedly will be nervous about going. Those not wanting to go can remain at the church and chat. Cookers is open fairly late (11:30), and they say they don't mind our lingering around and chatting until then. We will be seated in a non-smoking section, owing to the small size of their smoking section, but anybody wishing to smoke can step into the bar or take a trip outside. Those wishing to continue chatting after leaving Cookers can gather back at the church.

In a large, well lit restaurant like the Cookers, will 20 or so crossdressers be read? Of course we will! Will someone complain to the management? Maybe. On the other hand, probably 99% of the people there simply won't care. Most people will probably be amused but not offended, and they most likely will be watching us for a while, until the novelty wears off. Those who are offended will observe that the other customers are not stoning us and may learn a small lesson in tolerance by example. If any of these people glare at us, we should smile back and nod. A friendly smile can be quite disarming. This dinner will be our chance to show them that we're not freaks but people. Of course we need to reinforce this image by putting forth our very best presentation. We must dress tastefully and behave like proper ladies. Then again, don't we always?

On the more positive side, perhaps 2 - 10% of the male customers there will also be transgendered. We will be demonstrating for those poor, most likely closeted individuals that public is far more tolerant of transgendered individuals than is typically feared. Perhaps we might even attract a new member or two. There is much to be gained on this little venture, and I'm very excited.

Dianna's Adventures at Southern Comfort

by Dianna

The Southern Comfort (SC) conference is held in Atlanta, GA, each year towards the end of September. My wife and I decided early this year that we would like to attend and made our reservations then. We reserved a room at the Holiday Inn. After getting the information packet from the SC committee, we called and added Wednesday night to our reservation.

We spent a little over a week getting to Atlanta and had a good time seeing other parts of Georgia. Tuesday evening, after spending a couple of days at Stone Mountain just outside of Atlanta was time to let Dianna out of the trunk. I was excited about the conference and had decided to check in as Dianna. That evening was spent doing my nails, and after a few other necessities we turned in for the night. Wednesday morning came and I spent the morning getting ready. We had a couple of cups of coffee and decided to head over to the Holiday Inn around 11:30. The traffic there is something else. A lot heavier than Columbus.

We checked in around noon and got our things taken to our room. After getting settled we went over to the registration area. It turned out we couldn't register until around 2 or 3 that afternoon and I spent some time talking to some of the other gals that were there. Like most of the other conferences I've been to, everyone was friendly and most had something to say. Later that afternoon I signed us up for the tours the group puts on for anyone who would like to go.

Wednesday evening a pretty large group(about 45) went over to Mary Mac's Tea Room, which I guess is one of the places to go to if you are visiting Atlanta. We created quite a stir as we walked in. I guess that's hard to avoid when 45 or so CD's show up at a restaurant on busses. We had a private dining room and there were no problems. The food was good, and we had a good time talking to others.

Thursday Morning we went on a tour of the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. Only about 6 of us went. The group split up and we went our separate ways. We spent several hours touring the gardens and seeing the sights. Naturally took a couple of photos there, it's a beautiful setting and who can pass up a chance like that. We went into the gift shop and bought a few things to bring back to the kids back home. The bus returned us to the motel and we had lunch.

Thursday afternoon we went with the group to tour the CNN studios in Atlanta. Again only about 7 went and we got a guided tour of the studios. It was quite interesting to see how some of the shows are done. After the tour, we went to the gift shop and got a few more things. Some of the gals had videos made of themselves at a news desk doing the news. They also had a weather map and you can get a photo of yourself doing the weather. After the shop, we went outside to wait for the bus. CNN is right next to the OMNI and we were hoping to see Hulk Hogan or someone, but they never showed up.

Thursday evening a large group went over to Planet Hollywood for diner. We stayed and ate at the motel. The gals that went said they had a great time.

Friday morning about 5 of us went over to the Lenox Square Mall. My wife decided to stay at the motel and do some studying. Three of us went into Macy's and after looking around a bit the other 2 gals decided to go over to Neiman Marcus to look around. I had seen a dress I wanted to try on so we agreed to meet later. I found a dress I just couldn't live without that had been marked down to 1/2 price from $100. After trying it on, I found that they were having a sale and I got another 30% off. The clerk was very nice and even remarked that there were quite a few kids running around with another woman who was there. We talked for a few minutes and I went off to do a little more shopping. I went into several other stores and ended up at Neiman's. After pricing a pair of velvet slacks at $200, I decided that wasn't the place for me to shop. I was very happy that the group was small, it gave me a chance to shop alone which seems to draw a lot less attention.

Friday afternoon we went on a sightseeing tour to the Coke Museum and to Underground Atlanta. The Coke Museum was kind of interesting and takes about an hour to go through. I had a nice talk with a couple of the gals who work in the gift shop. They had some questions about crossdressing and seemed to be very interested. We then walked over to the underground, which is about 3 levels of small boutiques, restaurants and taverns. Several of the gals went into Hooters to have a drink and my wife and I went to look around the shops. We met back with the group later and had some Ice Cream from one of the shops. Vice President Gore was there to give a speech that day, but it was moved inside of the train station because of the weather. So we didn't get to see him.

Friday evening was diner and the talent show at the motel. Some of the gals were very good, and we had a nice time talking with the other gals at our table.

Saturday Morning my wife went to the beauty shop at the motel to get a perm and I decided to run up to the local mall and get some photos developed. After dropping the film off, I walked around the mall for awhile and saw a small nail shop. I decided to go in and get my nails done. The gals that did my nails is from Russia and has been here about 4 years. We had a nice talk and she did a wonderful job on my nails. She said she was glad to be here and that there are a lot more freedoms that she didn't have in Russia. I kind of misjudged the time and by the time I got back to the motel, lunch was over and it was almost time to leave on the next tour.

The tour was to the High Museum of Art. This was the last weekend they were showing the "5 Rings". It was impossible to get tickets and the folks at the ticket counter couldn't find the reservations that were made for our group. Three of the gals left to take a cab back to the motel. After about 1/2 hour the gal leading the tour finally got us tickets to go in. They were letting people in by schedule and in groups of about 25. The crowd was unbelievable. After getting into the show, I could see why the lines were so long. The show was gathered from all over the world to be in Atlanta during the Olympics. Some of the paintings just took your breath away as we went from room to room. I'm glad we waited and the gals that left were really disappointed when we got back.

After diner at the motel we were entertained by the Atlanta Gay Men's Chorus. They put on a great show and later there was a collection that raised about $1000 for aids research.

Sunday morning came a little too soon. I would have loved to have kept my nail polish on for another day or so. But after breakfast and a little chatting with some of the other gals, off it came. Time to start back to Ohio and reality.

All in all, we had a wonderful time in Atlanta and are hoping to return next year. They had a great many seminars on almost any topic you can imagine. I hope to bring the program guide to our next meeting so that any of you who are interested can look it over. We didn't attend any of the seminars so I can't tell you how they were, but the conference is quite large and I recognized many of the speakers. I think there were about 400 people at the conference. It's a lot more public than the Riverside weekend and the motel is large enough that there are also quite a few civilians there. Atlanta has a pretty large gay community and is pretty accepting of CD's. I also talked to several TS folks who have moved there because of that. I talked to several gals from Texas who mentioned the Texas Tea Party, and if possible we would like to go there next year.

Salad Bar

by Joyce

I hear you! What kind of a title is that? Read on and you will see that miracles do happen to French maids at salad bars. Before I describe the miracle at the salad bar, I would like to briefly give you some background leading up to this wonderful miracle.

I am a 52 years young, 5'10", 145 lb, professional, heterosexual, divorced male with three grown children (youngest is 28), and, yes, I am a crossdresser. I suspect I am typical in that I have had these feelings all of my life, but I did not start to accept who I really am until 1992. I was 48 years old when I first saw a show on crossdressing. IT CHANGED MY LIFE FOREVER! It opened the door for my now present future. I will not bore you with the details of the divorce, except to say it was very vicious, and all of the things I feared for many years came true and then some. My ex wrote letters to my employer, told her relatives and friends, and also outed me to our three children without my permission. It was two years of tension and stress like I had never experienced, BUT I survived. I am still employed and have a good relationship with two of my three children.

My first wife did know of my crossdressing throughout our entire marriage of 30 years, but my venturing out to the support groups was too much for her. As painful as it was, it was a blessing in disguise. It was not a good marriage. I stayed in it for fear of her exposing my crossdressing. I have been divorced for over two years now. It was quite an adjustment. Slowly I discovered yoga and ballroom dancing, and i met a lot of wonderful people. I originally started the yoga for the flexibility it offers, but I soon came to enjoy many more rich features it gave me. I found a calmness I liked. I began to accept myself as I am. I feel very fortunate to have found the yoga at that time in my life. I also began taking ballroom dancing lessons, which improved my self-esteem and was a good way to meet very nice people. I did not know at the time that the yoga and dancing were getting me ready for the salad bar encounter.

It was late October, and the Crystal Club was spending the weekend at Deer Creek State Park. It was a beautiful place with a lodge, indoor pool, and cabins. There were about a dozen or so of us eating at the restaurant at the lodge. There were many others there also just spending a relaxing weekend. I wonder if they found it strange that all the men in the group decided to dress as ladies for Halloween. We were having a good time, and as I approached the salad bar in my French maid's dress, I heard this voice say to me, "Miss, there is no more soup." A lady with this great smile thought I was a lady employee dressed for Halloween. When I replied that I did not work there but was also trying to fill up my salad plate, she stepped back and broke out in a kind laugh. She knew I was not a real lady. We began to talk while waiting for them to fill up the salad bar, and we talked quite a bit about how we each enjoyed dancing. Her name was Linda, and she was there with her boyfriend for the weekend, who had already returned to their table.

For what reason I am not sure, Linda asked me to pull a prank on her boyfriend. She asked whether I would come over to her table in about ten minutes and pretend I had not seen her in 15 years and give her a big hug, acting like she was an old friend from long ago. You know how we crossdressers like to show off. I said, "no problem" and even had another crossdresser take a picture of the encounter. As I proceeded to greet Linda, her boyfriend's eyes got very big. I could sense he did not find much humor in her practical joke. After some polite conversation, I returned to finish my meal.

Even though her boyfriend would not come over to our table, Linda came over to say thanks, and for some reason, I said, "If you write your name and address on this napkin, I will send you pictures of the practical joke." I put her address in my purse. Two weeks later, I sent Linda pictures of the salad bar encounter, a picture of my male self, and a somewhat bold letter (out of character for me). There was no response, and I had forgotten about this until the day before Christmas, when I received a card from Linda with a lengthy letter inside. I must admit I jumped quite high in anticipation that I might see her again. We lived about 240 miles apart, but we began writing letters to each other. In one of her letters, she asked if I was gay, bisexual, or a transvestite. In my next letter, I explained that I was not gay or bisexual but purposefully did not say anything about being a transvestite.

In the middle of January, we met in Columbus for dinner and dancing. Our first date lasted 12 hours. We dined, talked, and danced until 3:00 AM. During this time, I did share with Linda my need to crossdress, etc. She has told me many times that she really liked the fact that I was up front and honest about who I really am. She too has been through a lot in her life and had gone through a lot of self growth and self acceptance. We often remark that fate prepared us to meet each other at the salad bar. We visited each other every weekend for about five months and continued to write letters during this time. We have a very open and honest relationship with each other. She knows everything about me, as I have answered all her questions honestly. It was not always easy, but it felt good to do so. We accept both ourselves and each other for who we are. I feel that this is the first time in my life that I have found intimacy. Linda has not found the crossdressing to be a problem. She says she loves all of me, including the crossdressing. We have been to support group meetings, the 1996 Be-All in Detroit, and dancing. This week, we are headed to Spice in Philadelphia.

Oh-YES! Miracles do happen to French maids at salad bars! We were married Sunday August 4, 1996. We will be back to Deer Creek this Halloween to celebrate where our love began. To all our friends, old and new, thank you!

Joyce

Editor's note: We apologize to Joyce and Linda for not publishing this submission earlier, but I suppose it's still on time. Congratulations, you two! It's a lovely story! --- Sarah

Copyright © 1996 by the Crystal Club, editor. All rights reserved. Articles and information contained in The Crystal Chronicle may be reprinted by other non-profit organizations without advanced permission, provided the author and source is cited and a copy of the issue containing the reprinted material is sent to the Crystal Club within two months of publication. The opinions or statements contained in the Crystal Chronicle are those of the authors' and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editor or the Crystal Club. Furthermore, neither the Crystal Club nor the Crystal Chronicle editor assume responsibility for any consequences resulting either directly or indirectly either from advice or from any other materials contained in this newsletter. Contributions of articles are encouraged but may be altered with the author's intent retained or may be rejected, whether solicited or not. Absolutely no sexually explicit material will be accepted or printed. Contributions may be emailed directly to the editor (for Crystal Club News Letter) or sent to the postal address below. The Crystal Club is a non-profit support group for transvestites, crossdressers, transsexuals, female impersonators, and other transgendered individuals. Spouses and significant others are welcome and are encouraged to participate. Both male-to-female and female-to-male individuals are welcome. Also, members from related organizations, helpful professionals, and approved guests are welcome when cleared through a Crystal Club elected officer. Club policies, meeting dates, locations, and fees are available on request through our address below. We will exchange newsletters with any other similar group. Send all correspondence to: The Crystal Club, P.O. Box 287, Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068-0287. (614) 231-1368.