A father’s day treat

By 2001, I had known Jon for 23 years. That was the same year Jon became my boss and most of the men in the group decided to become cross dressers (for a day). Some people were a little uncomfortable with the mere thought of a temporary gender change. But not Jon — he was completely comfortable with his manhood. And why not? It was all in good fun.

A young lady in the group (Cynthia) was a new transferee from the Philip Morris factory in Louisville, KY and was about to become a new bride. The only thing missing from the traditions of preparing for a wedding was the absence of a bachelorette party, as all her girl friends were several states away. Surely, with all the raw creative talent the group was famous for, this small obstacle could not possibly be a hindrance to fulfilling such a small feat, especially for someone so respected by her peers. So, as word spread of our surprise plan of attack, everyone began procuring the necessary armor and comparing notes on all the essentials, i.e., skirts versus slacks, hair styles, lip stick shades, heels versus flats, and the all important leather or lace. Of course, this endeavor required special coordination and leadership in order to be executed successfully. Jon was never afraid to be front and center for even the most complex challenges. He did not have to take this role on alone, but he was instrumental as usual in making sure the element of surprise and quality of execution was paramount.

Top Row: Jimmy Moose, Jon, Vince Smith, Paul Godwin, Randy Brach, Cynthia Cunningham, Wayne Isabel, Ed Reth, Steve St. Mary, Jacqui Singleton Bottom row: Karen Crostic-Suter, Nancy Bruchbacker, Earl Herald

On the day of the event, it was arranged so that the drag queens would rendezvous at the home of a co-worker where Cynthia was scheduled to arrive for a supposed dinner out with a couple of other co-workers. Before her arrival, the scene was crazy mad with wigs, makeup, stockings — it was surely a gala event in the making. Some in the group even seemed to be a natural at the conversion, but that would be a different story. As for Jon, he had a limit on how far he would go in his gender transference. As you see in the photo, he insisted on being present as the bearded woman.

When Cynthia arrived at the house, we were all gathered in an upstairs room. The entry was a large 2 story foyer with a grand stairway leading down. As she stepped inside, music began to play which was our queue to descend in a single line very slowly so that she could soak it all in. The music was masterfully selected to capture the eloquent moment. It was Shania Twain’s popular hit at the time “I Feel Like a Woman”. Cynthia was somewhere between shocked, stunned, and hilarious with laughter.

The event will go down as one of the groups finest moments. There is a large amount of evidence that exists in the form of photographs and video tape, but most are hidden in a vault, probably Fort Knox. I was able to secretly confiscate some of the photographs, but could only share a couple of them without fearing for my life . I hope you enjoy the limited selection. As you can see, Jon was a natural. He was a lovely man in any attire, inside and out.