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By Sally Stone · Posted
Post 8 “The Ohio Years” We moved to Pittsburgh because of the job with US Airways. The job involved classroom instruction and simulator training, but no actual flying, so I kept looking for an actual pilot position. A year after signing on with US Airways I got hired to fly business jets. The company was located in Cleveland, Ohio, but I was flown commercially from my home in Pittsburgh to where my aircraft was located, making it unnecessary to live near company headquarters. My flight scheduled consisted of eight days on duty with seven days off. Having seven days off in a row was great but being gone from home eight days in a row was difficult. For the first few years the flying was fun, but after a while the eight flying days in a row, were taking their toll on me. Those days were brutal, consisting of very long hours and a lot of flying time. Usually, I came home exhausted and need three days just to recover from the work week. Flying for a living is glamorous until you actually do it. Quickly, it became just a job. After five years as a line captain, I became a flight department manager, which required we live near company headquarters. That meant a move to Cleveland. Working in the office meant I was home every night but as a manager, the schedule was still challenging. I would work in the office all week and then be expected to go out and fly the line on weekends. I referred to it as my “5 on 2 on” schedule, because it felt as though I had no time off at all. About the same time, we moved to Cleveland, my wife and I became “empty nesters,” with one son in the military and the other away at college. Sadly, my work schedule didn’t leave much time for Sally. Add to the fact that while Cleveland is an awesome city, I just never felt comfortable expressing my feminine side. Most of my outings, and believe me there weren’t enough, occurred while I was on vacation and away from home. One of the most memorable outings occurred over a long weekend. I had stumbled across an online notice for a spring formal being held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, hosted by a local trans group there. I reached out to Willa to see if she was up for an excellent adventure. She was, so I picked her up and we drove to Harrisburg together. The formal was held on Saturday evening and we had the absolute best time. It turned out that organizers were a group named TransCentralPA. Everyone was wonderful and I made a lot of new friends that evening. We learned the spring formal was one of the group’s annual events but for the following year, instead of a spring formal, the group wanted to do a local transgender conference. That local conference would become the Keystone Conference, and I would attend every year for the next 12. My move to the west coast was the only reason I stopped attending annually. I went to the first annual Keystone Conference as an attendee, but in subsequent years I served as a volunteer and as a workshop presenter; more about those in the next installment. For my Cleveland years, the Keystone Conference would be my major outlet for feminine self-expression. Yes, I did get out on other occasions, but they were too infrequent. The managerial job just didn’t allow me the freedom I needed to adequately live my feminine life, and my frustration level was slowly, but steadily on the rise. It amazed me how adversely not being able to express the feminine half of my personality was affecting my happiness. However, a major life change was upcoming, and while it would prove to be a significant challenge in many ways, the events would ultimately benefit my female persona. First, my mom and dad got sick. They were in and out of the hospital and required personal care. My wife and I did our best but living in Cleveland, we were too far from them to give them the support they both needed. Second, I was experiencing serious job burn out. I decided I need to find another job and I needed to be closer to my parents. Things changed for the better when I got hired by an aviation training company as a flight simulator instructor. I would be training business jet pilots. The training facility was located in New Jersey, which put us much closer to my parents, and the work schedule was much better for quality of life. Most importantly, this life change would help Sally re-emerge and once again flower. Hugs, Sally -
By Mmindy · Posted
I made a living talking about bulk liquids in cargo tanks transportation as a driver and mechanic. Safe loading/unloading, cleaning and inspecting, as well as emergency response scenarios. Hazmat and fire behavior in the fire service as well as emergency vehicle operations and safe driving. "It was on fire when they called you. It will be on fire when you get there." Arrive ready to work. I could also talk about firefighter behavioral heath and the grieving process. The real fun thing is I can do this for people who are not Truck Drivers or Fire Fighters. Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Citizen Tax payers about Public Safety Education. I love public speaking, Mindy🌈🐛🏳️⚧️🦋 -
By Mmindy · Posted
Congratulations to the mom and family @Ivy on the addition of another child. Hugs, Mindy🌈🐛🏳️⚧️🦋 -
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By Ashley0616 · Posted
I recommend CarComplaints.com | Car Problems, Car Complaints, & Repair/Recall Information. A lot of good information -
By LucyF · Posted
I've got Spironolactone ___mg and Evorel ___mcg Patches (2 a week) going up to ___mg after 4 weeks -
By Ivy · Posted
Got a new Granddaughter this morning. Mother and child (and father) are doing fine. This makes 7 granddaughters and one grandson. I have 2 sons and 6 daughters myself. And then I switched teams. I think this stuff runs in the family. Another hard day for the patriarchy. -
By Ivy · Posted
Like @MaeBe pointed out, Trump won't do these things personally. I doubt that he actually gives a rat's a$$ himself. But he is the foot in the door for the others. I don't really see this. Personally, I am all in favor of "traditional" families. I raised my own kids this way and it can work fine. But I think we need to allow for other variations as well. One thing working against this now is how hard it is for a single breadwinner to support a family. Many people (I know some) would prefer "traditional" if they could actually afford it. Like I mentioned, we raised our family with this model, but we were always right at the poverty level. I was a "conservative evangelical" for most of my life, actually. So I do understand this. Admittedly, I no longer consider myself one. I have family members still in this camp. Some tolerate me, one actually rejects me. I assure you the rejection is on her side, not mine. But, I understand she believes what she is doing is right - 'sa pity though. I mean no insult toward anyone on this forum. You're free to disagree with me. Many people do. This is a pretty complex one. Socialism takes many forms, many of which we accept without even realizing it. "Classism" does exist, for what it's worth. Always has, probably always will. But I don't feel like that is a subject for this forum. As for the election, it's shaping up to be another one of those "hold your nose" deals. -
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By Ivy · Posted
Yeah. In my early teens I trained myself out of a few things that I now wish I hadn't. -
By Abigail Genevieve · Posted
I was thinking in particular of BLM, who years ago had a 'What We Believe' section that sounded like they were at war with the nuclear family. I tried to find it. Nope. Of interest https://www.politifact.com/article/2020/aug/28/ask-politifact-does-black-lives-matter-aim-destroy/ My time is limited and I will try to answer as I can. -
By Ivy · Posted
Well, I suppose it is possible that they don't actually plan on doing what they say. I'm not too sure I want to take that chance. But I kinda expect to find out. Yet, perhaps you're right and it's all just talk. And anyway, my state GOP is giving me enough to worry about anyway. I remember a time when being "woke" just meant you were paying attention. Now it means you are the antichrist. I just don't want the government "protecting" me from my personal "delusions." -
By MaeBe · Posted
1. I think there are some legitimate concern. 2. Thoroughly discussing this will consume many threads. 3. I disagree partially with @MaeBe but there is partial agreement. 4. The context includes what is happening in society that the authors are observing. It is not an isolated document. The observation is through a certain lens, because people do things differently doesn't mean they're doing it wrong. Honestly, a lot of the conservative rhetoric is morphing desires of people to be treated with respect and social equity to be tantamount to the absolution of the family, heterosexuality, etc. Also, being quiet and trying to blend in doesn't change anything. Show me a social change that benefits a minority or marginalized group that didn't need to be loud. 5. Trump, if elected, is as likely to spend his energies going after political opponents as he is to implementing something like this. Trump will appoint people to do this, like Roger Severino (who was appointed before, who has a record of anti-LGBTQ+ actions), he need not do anything beyond this. His people are ready to push this agenda forward. While the conservative right rails about bureaucracy, they intend to weaponize it. There is no question. They don't want to simplify government, they simply want to fire everyone and bring in conservative "warriors" (their rhetoric). Does America survive 4 year cycles of purge/cronyism? 6. I reject critical theory, which is based on Marxism. Marxism has never worked and never will. Critical theory has problems which would need time to go into, which I do not have. OK, but this seems like every other time CRT comes up with conservatives...completely out of the blue. I think it's reference is mostly just to spark outrage from the base. Definitely food thought for a different thread, though. 7. There are groups who have declared war on the nuclear family as problematically patriarchal, and a lot of other terms. They are easy to find on the internet. This document is reacting to that (see #4 above). What is the war on the nuclear family? I searched online and couldn't find much other than reasons why people aren't getting married as much or having kids (that wasn't a propaganda from Heritage or opinions pieces from the right that paint with really broad strokes). Easy things to see: the upward mobility and agency of women, the massive cost of rearing children, general negative attitudes about the future, male insecurity, etc. None of this equates to a war on the nuclear family, but I guess if you look at it as "men should be breadwinners and women must get married for financial support and extend the male family line (and to promote "National Greatness") I could see the decline of marriage as a sign of the collapse of a titled system and, if I was a beneficiary of that system or believe that to NOT be tilted, be aggrieved. 8. Much of this would have to be legislated, and this is a policy documented. Implementation would be most likely different, but that does not mean criticism is unwarranted. "It might be different if you just give it a chance", unlike all the other legislation that's out there targeting LGBTQ+ from the right, these are going to be different? First it will be trans rights, then it will be gay marriage, and then what? Women's suffrage? I get it, we may have different compasses, but it's not hard to see that there's no place for queer people in the conservative worldview. There seems to be a consistent insistence that "America was and is no longer Great", as if the 1950s were the pinnacle of society, completely ignoring how great America still is and can continue to be--without having to regress society to the low standards of its patriarchal yesteryears.
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