This is the second in an occasional series about women who inspired me over the years, and continue to inspire me. The first was Kimberly Huddle.
I often write about Linda Lewis in my blog and on my facialbook. I often refer to her as the "Internet Sensation" and other things like that. How do I know Linda, and who is she really?
Well, I guess it should start back when I found out about her. My femme side resurfaced in 2008- that is true- but I knew about trans sites before that. Around 2001, I was doing an internet search for fiction sites so I could post my work, and Fictionmania came up. For those who don't know, Fictionmania is a transgender site. I remember starting to read a story there and I was hooked. I couldn't believe that there was a site that had stories such as these- stories that spoke to something that I had long buried. From there, I started looking up other transgender sites, and very quickly after I found Linda Lewis.
Linda ran two websites at the time- one with just regular Linda pictures and her interviews from various magazines like Ladylike, and there was another one that specialized in pictures of her with very big boobs. (She took most of those on a Super Bowl Sunday, though I forget which one.) In any case, she also has a Flickr page, where she has all these fans. She was amazing, gorgeous, and untouchable: she was an Icon. And she still is.
Heck she even appeared in ads! When I reawakened in 2008, I started looking for things that would improve my figure etc. One of the places I found made scientifically designed hip pads for Trans people- called Classic Curves. A new one had just come out: the Veronica 4, and there on the ad was Linda Lewis- sitting on a stool in a red dress looking absolutely stunning. Later in my search, I found a site which sold breast prosthetics. It was an British site called Proactive Prosthetics, and there she was again- modeling the breast prosthetics. I was like "this woman is everywhere!" and again I thought she was some kind of Royalty. I put her up there with several other icons such as Heidi Phox, Donna Kelli, Kimberly Huddle, and just so many others.
In 2009, that I sent Linda a flickr message, asking her about the breast prosthetics and about the Veronica. She kindly responded, and I felt I'd been touched by the hand of God. I ended up purchasing both of those items over time. They were expensive, but I had a specific idea of how I wanted "Sophie" to look. I wanted her to have beautiful hips and big boobs. I figured these would offset my very large shoulders. I reasoned that if I had big boobs, nobody would be looking at my face. That rationale continues to this day. Fortunately, my genetics gave them to me.
Years later, Linda posted something on Facialbook. I forget exactly what it was, but she seemed very down. She had a health scare of some kind, which I later found out was a collapsed lung. She needed financial help. I sent what I could. It was then that she and I started chat. I found out that we had a lot of movies and music in common. One day, when I was trying to send her a DVD, I managed to call her. I was so nervous! I couldn't believe that I would be calling Linda Lewis! I left her a message, and she called back. A tenuous friendship began.
Eventually, I was asked to join Vanity Club. I spoke to Linda a lot about this. Although she is not my "Big Sister," she did coach me a lot, and I am grateful.
I decided that I was going to go to the Southern Comfort Conference. I was talking to my dear friend Stephanie Shostak about Linda. She had also helped Linda financially a little. Now this is saying something because Linda is a very proud person, and doesn't like asking for help. Between us, we figured we were going to get Linda Lewis to Southern Comfort as well. We figured out a way to get her a hotel room- she would room with a friend I knew, and between us we paid for her transportation. I didn't realize when this started that by the time Southern Comfort came around, my life would have completely turned upside down.
I've written before about how, at SCC, I pissed Linda off, and it made me think about how she was not an icon- that she's just a human being like the rest of us. And God knows I've pissed her off several times since then, just as she's made me angry. That's what happens when you know someone well. In any case, after SCC we parted ways and she went back to Michigan.
A couple months later, she was supposed to move down to Florida. The details there are personal, and I will not speak of them. However, she was delayed- she couldn't move down to Florida, but her lease was up in Michigan. She had nowhere to go. I asked my dear friend M, with whom I was staying, if she could put Linda up for a couple weeks. She readily agreed, because she is the kind of person who Helps. So it was that in late December 2013, I met Linda Lewis in her drab mode at State College, Pennsylvania, where had we agreed to meet. Only a week before, I was headed this way to blow my head off, but I turned around. It was a rainy, snowy, messy day, and she followed me from there back to the house where we would both stay for another six months. I lived on the second floor, while she lived in the basement, but it was during that time that I got to know the woman behind the Legend. I thought she would just be there for a few weeks. However that was not the case, as she kept getting delayed through no fault of her own.
Eventually she gave up on Florida, and we decided to get an apartment in Pennsylvania. So we moved out, found a third roommate Zoey (without whom we would have been on the street- and we will be forever in her debt.) We lived there for a year, and then moved to our current place.
Linda and I are best friends. We are not romantic at all, because, One: I'm not her type, and Two: I'm married. However, I would die for her, and I hope she knows that. There aren't many people for whom I would take a bullet- less than a handful- but she is one of them. I promised her that as long as there is breath in my body, she will never be alone.
So we will go through the rest of our lives, hopefully, as best friends and companions through this Whirlwind that is transition. She is on the cusp of going full-time herself, as the hormones are doing their work, and soon she will be unable to hide her femininity. I look forward to that time, and I know she does as well.
There are so many things that make up a transition, and Linda has been instrumental. I could not have done it without her; she was there that first day when I declared myself full-time. She was there my first day of work as a woman, and she has been with me every step of the way. She has done her best to help me when the Darkness has me firmly in its grip. Linda is one of the wisest people I know (and her knowledge of the Space program puts some Phd's to shame!)
She is my Bestie, and I love her.
Linda is a legend- even if she doesn't think she is. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met.
She is Linda Lewis.
I often write about Linda Lewis in my blog and on my facialbook. I often refer to her as the "Internet Sensation" and other things like that. How do I know Linda, and who is she really?
The Gorgeous Linda Lewis, June 2017
Well, I guess it should start back when I found out about her. My femme side resurfaced in 2008- that is true- but I knew about trans sites before that. Around 2001, I was doing an internet search for fiction sites so I could post my work, and Fictionmania came up. For those who don't know, Fictionmania is a transgender site. I remember starting to read a story there and I was hooked. I couldn't believe that there was a site that had stories such as these- stories that spoke to something that I had long buried. From there, I started looking up other transgender sites, and very quickly after I found Linda Lewis.
Linda ran two websites at the time- one with just regular Linda pictures and her interviews from various magazines like Ladylike, and there was another one that specialized in pictures of her with very big boobs. (She took most of those on a Super Bowl Sunday, though I forget which one.) In any case, she also has a Flickr page, where she has all these fans. She was amazing, gorgeous, and untouchable: she was an Icon. And she still is.
Heck she even appeared in ads! When I reawakened in 2008, I started looking for things that would improve my figure etc. One of the places I found made scientifically designed hip pads for Trans people- called Classic Curves. A new one had just come out: the Veronica 4, and there on the ad was Linda Lewis- sitting on a stool in a red dress looking absolutely stunning. Later in my search, I found a site which sold breast prosthetics. It was an British site called Proactive Prosthetics, and there she was again- modeling the breast prosthetics. I was like "this woman is everywhere!" and again I thought she was some kind of Royalty. I put her up there with several other icons such as Heidi Phox, Donna Kelli, Kimberly Huddle, and just so many others.
Ad for Classic Curves
In 2009, that I sent Linda a flickr message, asking her about the breast prosthetics and about the Veronica. She kindly responded, and I felt I'd been touched by the hand of God. I ended up purchasing both of those items over time. They were expensive, but I had a specific idea of how I wanted "Sophie" to look. I wanted her to have beautiful hips and big boobs. I figured these would offset my very large shoulders. I reasoned that if I had big boobs, nobody would be looking at my face. That rationale continues to this day. Fortunately, my genetics gave them to me.
Years later, Linda posted something on Facialbook. I forget exactly what it was, but she seemed very down. She had a health scare of some kind, which I later found out was a collapsed lung. She needed financial help. I sent what I could. It was then that she and I started chat. I found out that we had a lot of movies and music in common. One day, when I was trying to send her a DVD, I managed to call her. I was so nervous! I couldn't believe that I would be calling Linda Lewis! I left her a message, and she called back. A tenuous friendship began.
Eventually, I was asked to join Vanity Club. I spoke to Linda a lot about this. Although she is not my "Big Sister," she did coach me a lot, and I am grateful.
I decided that I was going to go to the Southern Comfort Conference. I was talking to my dear friend Stephanie Shostak about Linda. She had also helped Linda financially a little. Now this is saying something because Linda is a very proud person, and doesn't like asking for help. Between us, we figured we were going to get Linda Lewis to Southern Comfort as well. We figured out a way to get her a hotel room- she would room with a friend I knew, and between us we paid for her transportation. I didn't realize when this started that by the time Southern Comfort came around, my life would have completely turned upside down.
1984
I've written before about how, at SCC, I pissed Linda off, and it made me think about how she was not an icon- that she's just a human being like the rest of us. And God knows I've pissed her off several times since then, just as she's made me angry. That's what happens when you know someone well. In any case, after SCC we parted ways and she went back to Michigan.
A couple months later, she was supposed to move down to Florida. The details there are personal, and I will not speak of them. However, she was delayed- she couldn't move down to Florida, but her lease was up in Michigan. She had nowhere to go. I asked my dear friend M, with whom I was staying, if she could put Linda up for a couple weeks. She readily agreed, because she is the kind of person who Helps. So it was that in late December 2013, I met Linda Lewis in her drab mode at State College, Pennsylvania, where had we agreed to meet. Only a week before, I was headed this way to blow my head off, but I turned around. It was a rainy, snowy, messy day, and she followed me from there back to the house where we would both stay for another six months. I lived on the second floor, while she lived in the basement, but it was during that time that I got to know the woman behind the Legend. I thought she would just be there for a few weeks. However that was not the case, as she kept getting delayed through no fault of her own.
Eventually she gave up on Florida, and we decided to get an apartment in Pennsylvania. So we moved out, found a third roommate Zoey (without whom we would have been on the street- and we will be forever in her debt.) We lived there for a year, and then moved to our current place.
Road Trip- July 2014
Linda and I are best friends. We are not romantic at all, because, One: I'm not her type, and Two: I'm married. However, I would die for her, and I hope she knows that. There aren't many people for whom I would take a bullet- less than a handful- but she is one of them. I promised her that as long as there is breath in my body, she will never be alone.
So we will go through the rest of our lives, hopefully, as best friends and companions through this Whirlwind that is transition. She is on the cusp of going full-time herself, as the hormones are doing their work, and soon she will be unable to hide her femininity. I look forward to that time, and I know she does as well.
There are so many things that make up a transition, and Linda has been instrumental. I could not have done it without her; she was there that first day when I declared myself full-time. She was there my first day of work as a woman, and she has been with me every step of the way. She has done her best to help me when the Darkness has me firmly in its grip. Linda is one of the wisest people I know (and her knowledge of the Space program puts some Phd's to shame!)
She is my Bestie, and I love her.
Linda is a legend- even if she doesn't think she is. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met.
She is Linda Lewis.
Linda is indeed a dear friend, and a treasure to know. She has been your right arm for quite some time now. Your friendship is a lifelong one, one to cherish. Love you both!
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