Hi, Guys and Girls!
I have to confess that I'm not terribly high tech. I'm the literary sort and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the computer age. I didn't buy my own PC until it became absolutely essential for my work.
However, I have seen some of the advantages of it. E.g., given that I live on the opposite side of the Big Water from virtually all my family, Skype is a great innovation. Instead of paying an arm and leg to talk for five or ten minutes on the phone, just Skype them and talk as long as you like for free. (Why do they give it to you for free?)
I talk to my dad and my sister fairly often. They have a video cam, and they've been urging me to get one as well, and my reply has always been, "Yeah, well, maybe I'll do that some day." And they just laugh because they're familiar with my dislike of complicated technology.
Although in this case they're mistaken: that's not why I don't have a video cam connected to my PC. Can anyone guess the real reason why I don't? Think about it. Take your time.
Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick . . . Yes! We have a winner! Your gift certificate for Victoria's Secret is on its way.
My dad skyped me a couple of nights ago, and we talked for about 40 minutes. There was some good news and some bad news, and I could see him, but he couldn't see me. Fortunately for him, because I was fully dressed. He's past 80, in fairly good health--but I think the sight of me might have finished him. I'm not out to any of my family.
But to talk like this on skype while remaining invisible--would that qualify as deceit?
I've been thinking lately about what a nuisance TGism is in a way: it's so divisive. No telling how my family would react if they knew, but I'm not sure at all they'd like it. I know my dad wouldn't.
Also, lately I've watched a couple of films/videos that concern the reaction of a family to learning that one of their members is TG. It really bothers me in a way to see how upset they get--as if TGism is anything to get upset about, as if it's some sort of serious mental or physical handicap, as if it brings some huge tragedy into people's lives.
One thing I learned from my dad was that just by coincidence both my sister and brother were diagnosed with arthritic hips on the same day. Arthritis is a tragedy. I had an aunt who was crippled by it. But TGism isn't a tragedy. The only time it cripples anybody is when they try and repress it.
But I don't let my dad know. I know well how he'd react. I don't let him see me. I stay out of sight. So does that qualify as deceit?
Best wishes, Annabelle