Tower Grove Pride

After a year off, Pride returned to Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, a transgender friendly area of St. Louis. The St. Louis Gender Foundation had a booth so I decided to attend and help man (woman?) the booth. I had never attended Pride before, either at Tower Grove or out in St. Charles (a St. Louis suburb), but I decided it was time to do so. One advantage was it was being held in late September, as opposed to early June, so the weather was more conducive (as I have written, I now go out in summer, but with a wig it can get pretty warm, especially out in direct sunlight).

The Monday of the week of Pride my GG friend Michelle and I had been shopping at Free People, where I bought her a pair of overall shorts (you can read about our shopping trip if you click on “Dee” right below the title, and there will be a list of my other posts). She definitely looked cute in them. Although we both tried on a lot of the same clothes, I didn’t try on the shorts. But I thought they would be fun to wear for Pride.

I contacted Michelle and we agreed to meet on Friday, the day before Pride. She would bring in the overall shorts and I could try them on. She also brought a Pride t-shirt to wear underneath, so I tried on the combo, and liked the look. Michelle had me pose for some shots, and then we went to Hooter’s (her choice, not mine) for lunch.

For Pride I wore the overalls with my new crop top I had recently purchased in Milwaukee. The crop top is short, and probably age inappropriate, and I love it anyway. Instead of a purse, I chose a red leather backpack. My wife bought it but didn’t want it, so I kept it, and it makes for a cute accessory.

I was at Pride from about 1:30 until about 7, following the cleanup of our booth. Nice day, lots of people in all shapes, sizes, and colors. We had a fair number of visitors to the booth. Nice not to feel out of place. 

I actually did see a woman I know (I coached her son in youth soccer about 10 years ago, and we are Facebook friends), but she just walked by the booth. She was wearing Pride colors, so I thought about saying something, but I didn’t. 

I also have a good friend whose daughter is in a same sex marriage, and I was wondering if I would see her and her wife at Pride (I’ve known the daughter since she was a baby, and she’s 30 now). I was mentally debating whether if I saw them to say anything, because I know they would be surprised AND supportive. The flip side would be that I wouldn’t want them to tell their dad, and that might be unfair to them.

Two visitors to our booth had an instant camera, a modern version of the Polaroid camera that CDs used in their heyday. With me is our President Essay.

After leaving Pride, I walked to a nearby bar for dinner. They had outdoor seating but it was after sundown and cool outside, so I sat inside the basically empty bar, having a beer and dinner and entertaining myself on my phone. The bartender, a young woman, asked me if I had been to Pride (yes, and I mentioned our booth). She said she didn’t go because she was subbing for another bartender who was at a wedding. Then she said, “I’ve been meaning to say this, but I love your outfit”. I thanked her for the compliment, left, and then stopped at a nearby place for ice cream.

I enjoyed my day at Pride, and I suspect it won’t be the last time I go.