Where do I begin...

I do not know.

Hmm.

I have noticed a change as of late. It has been a slow and subtle change, so I didn't notice it at first. But it has come to my attention.

The close area around me has accepted me in a kilt. Most of the shopkeepers know me now... And know me well. They are glad to see me in their stores, browsing, I am a living display for customers to look at. At the different places to eat, I am treated differently. Better usually. For a while there, some places would, hmm, how do I say this... Some places treated me rather glacially. Some places I do not go back to at all, like the Atlanta Bread Company located downtown. Never, ever going back to the ABC in downtown Greenville after what happened there. If I ever did go back, it would be to find that nasty ******** that said what he did, and I would gladly reach down his throat, grab his spleen, and yank him inside out. And then I would do terrible things.

I am rapidly gaining status as a local living landmark. People honk and wave when they drive by... At least the locals to the downtown. Other people still holler stuff about my sexual orientation out the window. I have been on the local news a couple of times now. When they are downtown filming a story, they can't resist themselves if I am around. They capture me on film. The police know me. I am generally respected and even well liked now... The coffee shop knows me all to well. New trainees when they are working always do a double take, and the manager always informs them with a smile that they never need to see my ID when I pay with my card, because my tartan is legal form of identification. (And that always confuses the poor trainees) One day I shall go in there wearing a solid and their heads might explode.

Acceptance.

That's a funny concept to me. I have finally found the skin I was meant to be in... My real self. And by accepting my self, I am finally finding some small measure of acceptance in the people around me. They can see that this is clearly the real me... I dunno how to put it and I am prolly flapping my gums senselessly here.

I finally feel like I belong here. It's strange.