Everyone seemed very friendly, even given my mildly-feminine appearance. We were introduced to several of the women by D-I-L, but she missed a few. After we first went in, one of the older ladies introduced herself and her early-teen grand daughter, and asked "...and you're (our son's) mother?" Since I would surely meet her again, I had no choice but to correct her with "father." She apologized, then we chatted a minute before we moved on to greet others. During this chat, I noticed that her granddaughter kept staring at me. I may have been the first feminine male she's seen...and I'm glad to have visibly enlightened her. (Would love to have been that "butterfly on their screen" to hear her comments on the way home!) Shortly I was introduced to some more of the attendees. None too soon, our son grabbed me, and we headed for the door. He, his future F-I-L and I took off in the car for a quick inspection trip to the wedding venue, leaving the women (of various ages up to the sixties) to their hen party.
The lady's inquiry about "my being our son's mother" WAS overheard by my wife, and she briefly mentioned the following day in a private discussion (not overheard by anyone) about my hair. Namely that it's so full and thick, everyone thinks I'm a woman. I pointed out that it's obviously not everyone, since others knew I was the father, and another lady I didn't know "clearly identified me as a man." I reminded her that with my pronounced 5-o'clock shadow plainly visible at the time, anyone making such a "miss-identfication" is likely to be in need of some serious vision care...and the subject was dropped.
When we boys returned from our "boys afternoon out", the party was winding down. We (and the dogs - which were finally released from their kennels) all did our part to "take care" of the remaining snacks - not much was left to waste! One of the female guests remaining (who knew my identity) took a minute to compliment my long hair. I said that on wedding day it'll likely be in a ponytail, because my wife insists. She said "that's a shame - it looks so nice and full...." We talked a bit about how long I've worn my hair this way, plus the fact that twice in years past, I've donated to "Locks of Love." At least till I started with breakage as I've aged. And she had some suggestions for that...it was fun partaking of a women's discussion about a women's topic!
Sunday, an exciting event happened in downtown Chattanooga, which our future D-I-L attended in our absence. The Mississippi steamboat Delta Queen (which I blogged about in July of 2014 ("A fabulous vacation, plus a twist") had been recently sold, and was towed out of town, headed for rehabilitation in New Orleans. We had to make sure our son got to the airport in Nashville for an out-of-town work trip, thus we couldn't attend. So she was able to send us some pictures...of which the following is a good one!
Plus, even though the gate was closed and locked, we were able to get a distant picture of the Nashville Super Speedway as we were enroute to Chattanooga. The speedway is a concrete oval track 1 1/3 miles (2.145 km) long. It is owned by NeXovation, having been sold by Dover Motorsports, which owns Dover International Speedway. Nashville Superspeedway was the longest concrete oval in NASCAR during the time it was on the NASCAR Nationwide Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series circuits, though it is currently no longer a NASCAR venue, and is closed to competitive activities.
More later...
Mandy
Fun and exciting story Mandy! It just backs up my idea that a huge amount of passing privilege comes with the blessing of a full head of hair!
ReplyDeleteCyrsti,
DeleteThanks, hon! Yes, it's a good thing that long hair always seems to work its magic!
A very feminine bob or pixie cut would, as well. But since my wife tolerates it long, and would undoubtedly insist on taking it all the way to a men's style if I cut it at all, I plan to maintain the length for as long as possible.
Even if it means that on our son's wedding day I have to tolerate her putting it into a pony tail and bobby-pinning/hair spraying it, to keep the short ends in place for a few hours. She knows to enjoy my looking very male that day, since it's a one-time thing...
If it makes her more comfortable among the big family that day, it's OK with me. They will have other opportunities to meet the feminine "me."
Hugs,
Mandy
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