Trinidad is a historic town on the Santa Fe trail nestled against the foothills of the Rocky Mountains halfway between Santa Fe and Denver. We stopped here for the night and before heading out on the road the next morning, hopped on the Trinidad trolley to take a quick guided tour. Trinidad retains its Old West character and the vitality of its pioneering days. The Trolley takes you past many historic buildings that were vitally important to folks making their way out west, like the bank, or churches and even a synagogue. Trinidad was a thriving town with a railroad and was home to some prominent citizens who built mansions using local materials.
On the trolley I sat next to my son Joel who was about to turn 6. He noticed an older woman on the bus who sat a few rows behind us who was very friendly and introduced herself as "Dottie". As the trolley moved along, Joel whispered in my ear that he thought Dottie looked like a man. After a few casual look backs I realized that yes indeed, Dottie was a man dressed as a woman with big hands, muscular build, and a large adam's apple to go with her lipstick and nail polish and colorful outfit. At the end of the trolley ride Dottie was kind to compliment our well behaved children and we bid her a good afternoon and headed to find something to eat.
Sitting at lunch after the trolley ride, the kids, Shari and I discussed the fact that sometimes people feel more comfortable dressing as the opposite sex. It opened a whole discussion not only about being tolerant and understanding, but about transgender folks, and even sex change operations. I care deeply that my kids grow up to be compassionate and tolerant people and the best way to do that is to use these opportunities and treat them as teachable moments. Communication is key, and when kids feel comfortable asking questions it's important to treat those questions with respect and answer them honestly and appropriately.
