Chapter History

A Tale of Trees

By Jane Ellen Fairfax

Let’s talk about trees.  The tree is one of the richest blessings of creation.  It takes carbon dioxide out of the air, and releases oxygen so that we all may live. It uses light and chlorophyll to fix nitrogen, fertilize the earth and provide vegetation.  From the trunks of trees we get bark, cork and maple syrup. From among the leaves we get all sorts of fruits – apples, cherries, pears and many others.  Leaves provide shade, and their gentle rustling pacifies the human spirit.  It was their majesty and beauty that moved Joyce Kilmer to exclaim,

        Poems are made by fools like me.
        But only God can make a tree. 

Every tree, however majestic, starts out as a tiny seed.  It may be an acorn, an orange pip, or a peach pit.  Similarly, every Tri-Ess chapter starts with a seed of vision, a desire for a place where people can enjoy crossdressing with dignity and promote F.I.B.E.R.: 

F - Full personality expression, in a blending of both our masculine and feminine characteristics, in order to be all we can be.

I - Integration of our masculinity and femininity to create a happier, more complete, person as we use our enhanced  understanding of ourselves in our daily lives. 

B - Balance between masculinity and femininity in our total personalities.

E - Education of Crossdressers toward self-acceptance, education of our families toward understanding, and education of society  toward the acceptance of Crossdressers as ordinary people with  a special gender gift.

R - Relationship- building in the context of crossdressing.

This kernel of vision, which is the starting point of all Tri-Ess chapters, will sprout and grow into a mighty tree, but only if it is fertilized by the involvement of many members.  Some provide the water of support, serving as Big Sisters, program directors, peer counselors, and just positive people building the self-confidence of new sisters.  Others provide the nutrients of outreach, speaking at college campuses, Crisis Hotlines, the police department and other civic organizations, and designing and maintaining a website, which keeps new sap flowing in the trunk.   

But it is the fertilizer of bonding among the sisters that makes for a majestic tree.  At Tau Chi Chapter in Houston, we’ve got that something special.  Not content to meet once a month and socialize in dresses, our members gather for a non-crossdressed activity the night before the regular meeting.  The wives meet for a special brunch, and we schedule occasional ladies’ nights out.  Between meetings, we talk on our chapter’s e-group.  Earlier this year, most of our chapter went on a cruise.  At dinner one night, four couples discovered they had been married for 30 years.  Now we are planning an annual dinner to celebrate our long-running relationships.  This is a group whose members really like one another.  Is it surprising that Tau Chi Chapter is enjoying continuous growth?  

You have trod a long path to reach where you are tonight.  Rejoice in your strength, but remain vigilant.  Trees are subject to scale, blights, fungi and other parasites that batten off them and block them off from the light.  Learn the lesson of the American chestnut.  Once forests of these trees blanketed the eastern half of the United States.  A century ago they were surprised by a blight that felled every one of them.  Now the only evidence of their existence is massive rotting trunks on the forest floor, their forms covered with algae and mushrooms.  A sad sight! 

In the same way, I have seen chapters blighted by the same mistakes, suffering always the same consequences.  I promise you, you will encounter someone who demands to be an exception to the rules on membership.  Like a bag worm, he will cling to your leaves, devouring your founding vision.  Confronted, he will exude the oil of self-pity:  “I came here seeking support, and you are throwing me out on the street.”  Do you have the wisdom and the courage to excise him from your tree? 

Beware of kudzu!  It is a beautiful green vine, very luxuriant.  It entwines itself around the trunk like a verdant gown, but its caress is a death grip.  So is the controller.  Like kudzu, he looks attractive.  He demonstrates great energy and capability, and will show an interest in every part of chapter life.  But his aim is to gain control of the chapter.  A servant’s heart is not in him.  Once he gains control, he loses interest, and falls off the tree, often leaving it in dying condition.  The antidote for this parasite is involvement.  Look for those who are team-builders.  Having made them your leader-servants, support them, volunteering with a “how can I help?” attitude.  Every one has her own special gifts, and there is no such thing as a sister who has nothing to offer.  Even the rankest novice can serve on the food committee, and write up her “first time” experience for the newsletter.  An involved membership is rich fertilizer for a chapter tree, but deadly poison to a controller vine. 

A tree grows best when its soil, climate and water supply are most compatible with its needs.  Apple trees do best in sheltered, well-watered valleys, while spruce trees thrive on the cooler mountain slopes.  Secure in their respective ecological niches, the various tree species reach fruitful maturity and seed new generations. So it should be with Genderland support groups.  But while no farmer plants an apple orchard on a mountain top, or spruce groves on sandy beaches, some in Genderland insist that support groups do just that.  The “one size fits all” approach does not work for clothing, and it does not work for support groups.  Every tree deserves to be planted where it can thrive, with others like itself. 

Now you are a sapling, strong, proud, healthy, and deeply rooted in the Tri-Ess vision.  But the journey from sapling to tree can be a complicated and uncertain one.  I would like to issue you the following challenge:  Five years from today, invite me back to look on the tree we have planted together. What will it have become?   

The tree of Tau Epsilon Sigma does not stand alone.  It is part of a vast nation-wide Tri-Ess forest that will become denser and greener with the passing years.  I hope you will work with your Tri-Ess leadership to make its programs and services available in the Northwest.  Someday you will become the mother of other Tri-Ess chapters in Portland, Spokane, and perhaps Pullman.  Let your seed range far and wide.  Reach out to sisters in these areas.  Believe there is nothing you cannot do.  As you accomplish, you will make the forest a healthier place for us all.  May you ever bloom and grow, and may you always bear good fruit!