In the brief time I've been a part of this community, eleven dear ones have passed. I admired them all, knowing only a handful. Wren loved me like a sister. I enjoyed a tenuous relationship with Edeyn; she and I didn't agree on some things, but she accepted me and trusted me to be a friend for the things we shared. Bob helped me in so many ways. And Teddi encouraged me from the very start; her kind words and love gave me a reason to continue, both in writing and in life as Andrea when I was on the verge of giving up both. My family could not understand why I wept like a child over the loss of someone I never met.

My heart breaks for that loss of these and the others. Not just because of their deaths, but what their struggles and heartaches have come to represent for many of us in this community.

Many of you know I'm not shy and love to make friends. I've made some here.

I started making friends among the pioneers of the TG movement, if it is a movement, when I was about 20. I've been friends with 5 people who fit in this category. Most I knew only through snail mail (remember That?) and telephone conversations a few lengthy. Some were being investigated by the FBI, my God, they were advocating crossdressing! And Hoover, the old Queen, was in full persecution mode.

Those I feel fit into that group:

Virginia Prince: We were on opposite coasts, so this was mainly correspondence and the occasional phone call. She published the first TG magazine and Founded TriEs, a sorority for crossdressers. She was a strong personality and convinced that her way was the only way: Passed.

I won't give this name because she was very private and after transitioning, wanted to hide her past. She stopped corresponding years ago and I don't know her status. Our manor of meeting was unusual and perhaps I'll write about it sometime.

Lee G. Brewster: On the face of it the only thing we had in common was our birth year, Yet we became fast friends. He did more For us, CD, TG, Gay and Lesbian than anyone I know of, yet his achievements are mostly forgotten due to the opposition of the Feminnazi wing of the Wimen's movement and the part of the Gay movement that is ashamed of TGs and wants to pretend we don't exist and had nothing to do with the freedoms they now enjoy. It was Lee, in a conversation over lunch, who got me started writing: passed, and missed as a friend!

Sandy Thomas: Sandy reinvented CD (TV), TG fiction by insisting on an actual plot and proper grammar, also quality printing, and when she could afford it, excellent illustration commissioned for the story. Sandy did more than anyone I can think of to raise the quality of the genre. She also writes many of the stories. Our correspondence started with mail and is now email. I consider her a dear friend and rejoice Sandy is still with us. A very special and accomplished person.

Vicki Rene: Vicki did more than anyone to put a face on all of us, whether we were casual heterosexual crossdressers, or drag queens, or pre or post op, she respected everyone. I only knew her for a brief time through emails before her untimely passing. I found Vicky to be infinitely friendly to all and it showed in her brilliant, and massive, website. The Transgender Guide http://tgguide.com/ (Highly recommended!) Has a site memorializing Vicki and her website: Yes there are pictures and even links to individual websites as in days past, and more is being added. For those who loved the Prettiest of the Pretty and all the other features of the original site, this is a can't miss experience. http://vickirene.net/

If there's any interest, I can write more in a blog.

Ole