Crossdressers Make Haste to Welcome New Police Chief

We crossdressers are noted for taking forever to get ready for a night out. Sometimes we’ll spend hours shaving and applying make-up, choosing the right outfit, etc. just for an evening sitting in a motel room or posing for our own photos.

I’m an experienced and generally efficient old broad but I cannot imagine allowing myself less than an hour to get ready to face the world as Linda. If you are like me then this story will amuse and amaze you on several counts.

First some background: Gender Mosaic is a fairly large and very successful gender support group centered in Ottawa, Canada. It is Tri-Ess like in its structure and organization but a bit more liberal in its membership. In recent years the leaders of Gender Mosaic have been very ‘out there’ in giving the group visibility and credibility in the Ottawa community, participating in Gay Pride events like flag raisings at the police headquarters, vigils like Transgender Day of Remembrance and of course the gay pride parade itself. Police are invited to and regularly attend Gender Mosaic events and in return Gender Mosaic is represented on a police/ community liaison committee.

Amanda, Chief Bordeleau, and Sophia

So it was no real surprise that when the Ottawa Police were to hold a Change of Command ceremony to welcome a new chief three leaders of Gender Mosaic received personal invitations to attend the ceremony. (There may have been other Gender Mosaic members in attendance but they would have been in disguise perhaps as judges, Members of Parliament, councilors, lawyers, police officers or other community leaders. In Ottawa you never know.)

Here is where the story gets interesting. Two of the invitees had to come from out of town for the ceremony. One, Amanda Ryan, lives about a one and a half  hour drive west of Ottawa. The other, Sophia Cassivi, lives in Gatineau, just across a river from Ottawa but she spends a lot of time at her cottage about an hour away. They are two best friends. They had arranged to attend the ceremony together. Read it first in Amanda’s words, then Sophia’s. Will all hell break loose or will it be all’s well that ends well? (Note: the place names may not mean anything to you. Just be assured they are not right next door to each other.)

Amanda’s Version:

Life with Sophia can certainly have its highlights! Yesterday was a case in point.

Sophia and I, as well as Joanne Law, had the honor of being asked to attend the Change of Command Ceremony for the new Ottawa Chief of Police. The ceremony was at 2 p.m. So, I gave Sophia a call on her cell at 12:20 p.m. as I was driving into Ottawa to coordinate changing outfits at her place. This is where the fun begins.

“Are you at home?”

“No, I am at the cottage.”

“Aren’t you going to the Change of Command Ceremony?”

“Yes, at 7 p.m.”

“No, it’s at 2 p.m.”

“OMG!!!”

Click.

At this point I figure she will never make it in time so I call a couple of friends to see if I can change at their place. No answer. OK, the Community Hall where we have our pot lucks is just up the street. I stop there, explain my situation and use their washroom to change. I am in good time and will arrive at the venue with plenty of time to spare.

The phone rings — Sophia has a plan! She is screaming down the highway at who knows what speed. I only suspect the QPF were not able to catch up to her. She says she will arrive at home in 15 minutes, will shave, change clothes and will put her makeup on in my car. I agree. Now I am watching my plans for arriving early in a leisurely drive go up in smoke. We are going to have to really hustle to get there in time.

She is already home when I get there. She changes quickly and we are actually in my car with 30 minutes to make a 30 minute drive. Now I am watching for the OPP. She asks me to tell her when I am about to hit a bump. I missed several and she was lucky not to stab herself in the eye. We actually arrived at the venue and walk in calmly at 1:55 p.m.

Life with Sophia — OMG!

Sophia’s Version:

As I am reading this, I realize how much it depends who is telling the story.

At 12:22 exactly on my cell phone, I am calmly measuring with the geothermic specialist at the cottage how to install a new environmental heating cooling system and Amanda calls me. She said, she was heading towards my place so she could change. Since I drove from Buckingham to my cottage with the specialist who is not at all a race car driver, the usual 45 minute drive for Sophia to get back home in Hull is compromised by a slow 35 minutes to Buckingham to pick my car and the 20 instead of 30 minutes with my car from Buck to Hull.

While in my car, I explain to Amanda (thinking she needs to change that she still can change at my place, she tells me, she changed at Old Forge), oops, my plan could be compromised. I beg her to come and pick me up so I can get to Hull at 1:17, shave, dress put on my base and then all the make up and brushing the wig in the car while she drives.

In 13 minutes, I was ready to go and we then took 23 minutes to get to the venue in Orleans which would take me 18. I know, Amanda is safer driver than I am.

When we arrived, we could have made it even 2 minutes earlier if I had not had to wait after Madame Ryan who needed to brush her hair and walk slowly in painful heels.

All this said, good thing my phone works at the cottage, that I drive fast, that I know how to coordinate and that I change and put on my makeup really fast.

On the other side and I will say it, hope she does not read this, might get to her head: Very lucky I have a friend like Amanda

With precision and the right side of the story

Sophia

The result? I’m told it was a very impressive ceremony. The two ‘speed queens’ represented us well and looked great in their photo with the new chief.

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Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment