At last…

Special to The Gayly
by Jim “Trudy Tyler” Webb

I have two names, one is the stuff of legend and the other is my legal name. Known only to my family and a few very close friends. Only one has a FB page, and the other engages in no social media whatsoever.

My name is Jim Ray, a.k.a. “Trudy Tyler.” I am your Miss Gay Oklahoma of America, “Emeritus.” My significant other's name is Warren Dean Sanderson. We first met in 1982. My best friend at the time introduced us - they were partners. When I looked into Warren’s hazel eyes framed with clock stopping thick eyelashes, I observed he was just a good ol' boy, with a drawl as thick as Texas.

Dressed exactly the way he sounded; Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and a bull rider moustache, I was in awe and in love at first sight. But my loyalty to my very best friend came first, so I moved on.

15 years later, I got a call from a friend asking me to come pick him and his friend up from the club to take them home. I did and when they took their seats in my back seat, I happened to glance in the rearview mirror and to my utter astonishment, there sat the man I'd fell in love​ with those many years ago.

I said “Warren?” He looked up in pure surprise and said “Jim?”

Upon finding out he was single, it was on! The chance I had only dreamed of, literally landed in my lap. I pursued him relentlessly and tenaciously, for I knew this was my chance! He would not be slipping through my fingers this time. I courted him with extreme prejudice so he never stood a chance. Things just seemed to fall into place so effortlessly it was almost surreal.

We were mutually monogamous from the start. An unspoken contract had begun with no discussion on our parts. We have been together without a single break for 20 years this year.

I discovered along the way, he had always crushed on my stage persona, since we first met. At the time, I was not working hardly at all, because as time goes by one becomes a bit less self-sufficient at the art of “quick change.” He couldn't bear the thought of the end of Trudy and so insisted on becoming my dresser, adding some 18+ years to Trudy's shelf life! He became so adept at this, all I did was step offstage and stand as still as a mannequin while he worked his magic. In less than five minutes I was in my next costume, accessories and all. Ready to roll and the show flowed seamlessly. I barely broke a sweat.

In 2001 I was diagnosed with heart failure, so a dresser was not a luxury. He's had my back and I his - I became his patient advocate for his chronic illness. Now, I am a 15 year survivor of heart failure.

20 years flashed by as if time warped. One day we both realized just how much time had passed, looked at one another and said “where did all that time go?” It sounds cliché but it was almost like in the blink of an eye, we were celebrating 20 years!

I want to show him just how much our experience has meant to me in front of as many as I can. So, after my guest spot the first night of MGOK, I'll have him called to the stage and on one knee and a skirt, I wish to ask for his hand in marriage

He is my world and I could not imagine my life without him. It's past time to make it official, and time waits for no one. This is our year for joining legally and exchanging vows.

Taking destiny for our own and growing old, happy and yes maybe fat with one another, with a license to do so.

And live oh so happily ever after!

The Gayly – August 2, 2015 @ 3:10pm