My Past

On my own...

Upon graduation from high school, I found a job with Kmart for 2 months as a cashier, and then worked for our local electric utility for 6 months. I still lived at home, dressing in what ever I could find, whenever I could. I was still too anxious and paranoid to buy any female clothes. I was skinny, and still a bit shorter than my friends, and had almost no body hair, except for my pubic region. In 1969, I got a job as an installer for the local phone company in Detroit. I was constantly in and out of customers houses, apartments, and flats, often without an escort. The opportunities for clothes theft were boundless, but I was very cautious. Generally, blacks lived in most of the residences, and they were quite stylish, as well as wearing larger sizes. I had 'acquired' some wigs, bras, panties, stockings and pantyhose, shoes, boots, some skirts, dresses and bodysuits. My favorite pair of boots were thigh-high silver leather, with a 1" heel. But all of this was not without a price. The worst trouble I'd gotten into was getting caught (after the fact) for taking a pantsuit, skirt and a pair of black patent knee-high boots from the same customer at one time. The lady complained about missing clothes the day after I finished the job, and my boss asked me about it. I denied it (of course), but the lady was adamant. So I took a lie detector test at the police station to prove my innocence. I don't know to this day if I passed it or my boss fixed the results, but I was let off the hook, much to the dismay of the lady! I moved out of my parent's house in early 1971, and roomed with my boss in Highland Park for a year. Before I moved out, however, I had found some pictures of my Dad (in drag) hidden in a drawer! So my Dad was a T.V., and I had no clue!!

I'd rented a garage for storage to keep my first car (actually a wreck) and my 'clothing' in. I was dating girls then, but I think it was their size match (to me) and the clothes styles they wore that influenced my choices in dates. I also began to date the girl who was destined to become my wife. As a matter of fact, she had found an early Polaroid picture I had taken of myself dressed, and suspected I was cheating on her with another girl ( the truth wouldn't come out until a year after we married, when she found many more of my pictures). That summer, she lived in a rooming house in Highland Park, and worked at a Mariannes clothing store. She bought some hip and sexy fashions, which I wore, or tried on in her room when she was at work. In 1972, I moved again, and this time shared a townhouse with a man that I had installed some business lines for. We became good friends, but not good enough to share my 'secret' with, since he was an ex-MP, and wasn't very open minded about that kind of thing. He and I roomed together until I got married in the spring of 1974, and he never found out, even through a change of residences. I was still only shaving once a week, and weighed only 135 lbs. We often went in different ways, and he was out of town a lot. That first year, I bought some of my first new clothes, including a purse, and a long blonde wig. I also took a job transfer to the suburbs, which opened up new vistas in clothing opportunities. I went out dressed to the Gold Dollar Show Bar on Halloween, after nearly getting caught while dressed, by my roommate. I even entered the costume contest they had. I'd worn a white long sleeved bodysuit, dark wine colored velour mini skirt, tan pantyhose and black lace-up vinyl boots. I didn't win, but got a lot of comments, complements and whistles. After that, I went back to that bar dressed many more times. I also adopted a femme name, Debbie, for going out in public.

Continue to the last part of the saga, marriage and beyond, see some photos of me during this time, or return to my home page.