Indy's NEW ATTITUDE
(Aug 2002)
Why I did this, I will probably never fully figure out, but in early summer I saw a note on one of my e-groups
that a coalition of groups in Indianapolis were putting together a new event there. Having spent some great times in
Indy for private play, I thought having an event there would be a great way to meet new folks and allow me a chance
to get my foot into the door of the local scene. Like Chicago and St. Louis, Indy is just a three hour drive away from
home, which provides a nice buffer zone for my femme fun!
Reading the articles further, I saw they were looking for help with some of the tasks necessary in putting an
event together. When I replied to the event's committee I was thinking in terms of helping with security, not basically
running it for the busy gal overseeing that area!
But I am getting ahead of myself. I ended up making several one-day trips over there for planning meetings.
In the process I met some awesome people and became exposed to portions of the Leather community that I had yet
to really experience. One of the first I met and hopefully have made a life-long friend of, was Tammie, the Committee
Chairperson for security, among her many other duties and undertakings! A brief conversation revealed we have a
lot of common friends in the scene from Chicago and elsewhere. Once she had checked me out with a few folks up
there, we became fast friends and allies in the work ahead of us. I can understand though, a crazy CD coming out of
nowhere, claiming the background I do does need to be checked out thoroughly <big smile!>. Fortunately dear
friends came to my rescue again! (Thank you Mistress Carol and Ms LashDomme!) In the bargain of gaining
Tammie as a friend, I have also earned the friendship and support of her Sir!
The weekend activities being planned were actually a combination of several events; the first ever Leather
title competition to be held in Indianapolis, a lifestyle convention with seminars and vendors, and a chance to play in
a very well equipped play space. The weekend would see Gay Leather men and women, bi and heterosexual D&s
and BDSM players, and a variety of fetishists, all intermingling. Putting this all together was a major undertaking and
was superbly managed by the leadership of the Midwest Bear Pack. Admittedly there were moments of dissent and
heated discussion, but in the end I think most were very pleased with the results. This was a major learning
experience for us all, but one well worth the efforts!
Meg became a real godsend during all this too. From the time she got there Friday evening, until way into
Sunday, she was there to help me all she could. Since she had been in on most of the discussions concerning
security prior to the event, it was so easy to let her have the reins once in a while, so I could get a few short breaks.
And since we were sharing a room, I had the chance to learn from her and share ideas in our "free" time (another
nice phrase for the short, hurried times we had to freshen up, change clothes and occasionally get a little sleep).
The first day and evening of the event went very well, with only a few security related problems that were
handled easily. One of the best things to happen early in the evening Friday was meeting with the hotel's uniformed
security officer, "Sgt Mc". After a few initial "failures to communicate" between us, he and I developed a real good
working relationship, that benefited everyone throughout the weekend. Other members of the security team or
myself ended up backing him up on a couple of situations not involving event participants, but that could have been
extremely dangerous for him working alone. And he was a great help in keeping hotel guests not part of the event
from getting into our areas of the hotel. He was also real helpful when the local police were called to the hotel on a
false report. With all the Leather folk and fetishists parading around the hotel at that time, it could have been a real
mess, but he handled it swiftly and professionally.
I also had a couple of short chats with Tiffany about myself. I was very pleased with her comments on my
makeup and she only had a few pointers on things I could do differently or better. But the real important things I
took from those conversations were more aimed at my self-confidence and outlook on my own gender issues.
Tiffany is a very supportive and caring person, who really helped me gain a better focus on myself in a few short
words. I can never thank her enough for that! Coupled with the great talks Meg and I had throughout the weekend
on a variety of related gender issues, the time spent in Indy gave me a much needed shot of encouragement. More
on this in a bit, as Meg also was the one to put her finger on one of the most important aspects of the weekend for
me!
I also had more than one of the Leather men there make a pass at me! That was a lot of fun! Since I was
"walking" the hallways a lot, especially Sat night while most of the folks were at the competition at a club down the
street from the hotel, it gave some of the guys time to flirt with me a bit! I used the situation to my advantage a
couple of times, talking the guys into escorting single ladies over to the club or out to the parking lot. My time "on
watch" also gave me the chance to have a few really nice discussions with folks that had been in the seminar that
day.
Throughout the weekend, I also learned new things about myself and the scene. At times, I was the only staff
member in the hotel area and had to deal with some things I had not thought about in our initial panning. I found I
relied heavily on my "male" career skills, as well as just plain common sense. But the weird part for me was doing
these things totally en femme. I found I was handling things the same, but still differently too. As one lady
commented latter, I had a real feminine empathy with those I was dealing with. I don't know if this is a natural trait, or
something that has developed as I have. It was a very unique experience, but regardless of the problem, I found I
was able to at least calm the situation until I could get Tammie or another staff member to help resolve whatever the
issue was. In this process, I made even more friends, whom I hope to enjoy for years to come.
As the weekend came to an end on Sunday I found I was "higher" than ever, and honestly could not put my
hand on the reason why. As I was talking this over with Meg at lunch that day, she came up with the solution. I had
been telling her my feelings about merging for the first time my two personas, combined with my thoughts on the
conversation I'd had with Tiffany the day before. Meg smiled at me and said she thought she had the answer to my
"high" feelings. Since she is very service oriented, I think it was easier for her to see what had happened to me,
than for me to. Her solution.....the entire weekend had been an intense "service" scene for me! It took me a
moment to understand what she was saying, but then it rapidly made sense. Wow! And it was several days later
before that wonderful feeling began to wane a bit, but never fully went away!
Sunday night, Tammie and Sir took me out for a relaxing dinner and conversation. It was the perfect ending
to an outstanding weekend of fellowship and service!
This was an entirely new experience for me in many ways. But I think the weekend was a tremendous
success in a variety of ways. We got through the entire weekend with no notable security problems. Many folks
commented latter on the helpfulness and effectiveness of the security team! The seminar resulted in a better
understanding of TG's, both male to female and female to male. Two girls also got the chance to strut their stuff with
new looks courtesy of Tiffany! On a personal level, besides the special friendships I had developed with Tammie,
Sir, Meg and Tiffany, I met a host of new friends amongst the volunteers, vendors and attendees that I know I will
see again! I again realized that I am quite comfortable amongst a variety of folks within the Leather and BDSM
community. And I am came away with a new feeling of "completeness" within me!