Highluc

Hi heel lovers, Sorry, long time no see but just a few words to tell you I'm doing great but still recovering a bit after my facial feminization surgery this summer. I start finding time again to update my heel website (linked below) but unfortunately lack of money and time prevented me from buying many new heels lately. One more year and the transition will be completely over with. Happy heeling to all, Laurence

Hurricanes, hostages, what's next in the shoe section? Please post those things in the non shoe related chapter, AND ONLY THERE ONCE.

Is such a thing like a Belgian High heels forum? Just asking!

Hi, we're only a handful having made it here and I always was the only Belgian during our Benelux meets. Although I have met 2 other Flemish heel addicts in person, I doubt you'll find sufficient interest for a Belgian Forum. Aren't you happy with this international forum?

Happy heeling, Laurence

for some people, the exact heel height maybe isn't that important?

For me the height only comes second to comfort and elegance. I have so many shoes I rarely go shopping for something particular. Usually my eyes fall on a for me overall pleasing model and if the fit is good and the wallet ok I end up buying these. Now as soon as I come home first thing I do is take a ruler and measure the heel and platform if applicable. This is just out of curiosity and even with all my experience I already had some surprises of heels differing up to 1,5cm from my (gu)estimate, both plus or minus. Comfort rarely had any relation to true heel height and I never felt the need to go higher just for the sake of reaching so many inches. By the way, estimating heel heights is not as easy as you thought if you don't know the shoe size you are looking at.

Happy heeling, Laurence

Hey guys come on !!! Is it really so difficult to follow the moderaters request to go back to topic? Why start gossiping about a girls character (good or bad) on a chapter not created for guys doing that, on a completely different topic , just 3 hours after Firefoxes specific request? Some people just never get it or have forgotten such private things can be discussed by private mail, another forum feature. Have a nice weekend, Laurence

Cyprus is a not too large island with quality (not too salty) meditarenean water available nearby. To irrigate golf coarses you don't need drinking water, so a few pumps and drains will do the trick and after seeping in the clean irrigation flows back to te mediterenean. Sorry but I can't see any ethical nor ecological problem. PS: I do not play golf nor watch those games.

I'm 53 and this is going too fast for me, let me go back for a while.

To answer the initial question, I like wearing pump style shoes because they are timeless designs and can be worn equally well under either a classical two piece skirt outfit of any length, or under modern jeans/slacks. Having high arches on the top of my feet is another reason for their increased comfort and slipping them on and off, either getting home or to try a pair of shoes for sale on a rack is very easy. They can be worn winter and summer and offer sufficient protection going somewhere, but are airy once inside, especially if dangling them. This comes automatically according to circumstances (hot or sticky feet, out of boredom, or out for a little challenging play). The perfect shoe, almost always available in any combination of heel, toe, color or material, a must for every ladies shoe rack. Happy heeling, Laurence

Wow, I'm flattered by all these comments. Next time I will make sure the photographer also takes my shoes in the frame, on this one I was wearing my brown heeled slingbacks. Although no stilettos the tapering 4inch block heels got caught once in between two wooden planks. It was a challenge walking down on such instable and treachery surface but hey, I'm not a beginner. There are many more imperfections to be seen on a higher definition picture but hopefully most of these will be corrected in a little over a month during my 12 hour facial feminisation surgery. Bert, when you are in Hasselr shoe shopping during your vacation, please feel free to call me, we'll have a coffee somewhere. My phone numbers are still the same. Happy heeling to all, Laurence

Hey guys , thanks for the support.

I'm doing fine but am working hard painting all the walls and ceilings of my new apartment with primer and 2 coats of paint (no heels for that job on the ladder). For the ones who remenber my interest for sailing boats, this picture of me was taken in the harbor of Zeebrugge 2 weeks ago.

Happy heeling, Laurence (aka Highluc)

Ad nauseum

I found this on the latest Yahoo news, I think those people in the text can be described as intelligent knowledgeable US Americans and therefore their opinion has to be taken into account. I added the source and writer for the sceptics. By Ronald Brownstein Times Staff Writer WASHINGTON — A group of 26 former senior diplomats and military officials, several appointed to key positions by Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) and George H.W. Bush, plans to issue a joint statement this week arguing that President George W. Bush (news - web sites) has damaged America's national security and should be defeated in November. The group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change, will explicitly condemn Bush's foreign policy, according to several of those who signed the document. "It is clear that the statement calls for the defeat of the administration," said William C. Harrop, the ambassador to Israel under President Bush's father and one of the group's principal organizers. Those signing the document, which will be released in Washington on Wednesday, include 20 former U.S. ambassadors, appointed by presidents of both parties, to countries including Israel, the former Soviet Union and Saudi Arabia. Others are senior State Department officials from the Carter, Reagan and Clinton administrations and former military leaders, including retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East under President Bush's father. Hoar is a prominent critic of the war in Iraq (news - web sites). Some of those signing the document — such as Hoar and former Air Force Chief of Staff Merrill A. McPeak — have identified themselves as supporters of Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. But most have not endorsed any candidate, members of the group said. It is unusual for so many former high-level military officials and career diplomats to issue such an overtly political message during a presidential campaign. A senior official at the Bush reelection campaign said he did not wish to comment on the statement until it was released. But in the past, administration officials have rejected charges that Bush has isolated America in the world, pointing to countries contributing troops to the coalition in Iraq and the unanimous passage last week of the U.N. resolution authorizing the interim Iraqi government. One senior Republican strategist familiar with White House thinking said he did not think the group was sufficiently well-known to create significant political problems for the president. The strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said the signatories were making an argument growing increasingly obsolete as Bush leans more on the international community for help in Iraq. "Their timing is a little off, particularly in the aftermath of the most recent U.N. resolution," the strategist said. "It seems to me this is a collection of resentments that have built up, but it would have been much more powerful months ago than now when even the president's most disinterested critics would say we have taken a much more multilateral approach" in Iraq. But those signing the document say the recent signs of cooperation do not reverse a basic trend toward increasing isolation for the U.S. "We just felt things were so serious, that America's leadership role in the world has been attenuated to such a terrible degree by both the style and the substance of the administration's approach," said Harrop, who served as ambassador to four African countries under Carter and Reagan. "A lot of people felt the work they had done over their lifetime in trying to build a situation in which the United States was respected and could lead the rest of the world was now undermined by this administration — by the arrogance, by the refusal to listen to others, the scorn for multilateral organizations," Harrop said. Jack F. Matlock Jr., who was appointed by Reagan as ambassador to the Soviet Union and retained in the post by President Bush's father during the final years of the Cold War, expressed similar views. "Ever since Franklin Roosevelt, the U.S. has built up alliances in order to amplify its own power," he said. "But now we have alienated many of our closest allies, we have alienated their populations. We've all been increasingly appalled at how the relationships that we worked so hard to build up have simply been shattered by the current administration in the method it has gone about things." The GOP strategist noted that many of those involved in the document claimed their primary expertise in the Middle East and suggested a principal motivation for the statement might be frustration over Bush's effort to fundamentally reorient policy toward the region. "For 60 years we believed in quote-unquote stability at the price of liberty, and what we got is neither liberty nor stability," the strategist said. "So we are taking a fundamentally different approach toward the Middle East. That is a huge doctrinal shift, and the people who have given their lives, careers to building the previous foreign policy consensus, see this as a direct intellectual assault on what they have devoted their lives to. And it is. We think what a lot of people came up with was a failure — or at least, in the present world in which we live, it is no longer sustainable." Sponsors of the effort counter that several in the group have been involved in developing policy affecting almost all regions of the globe. The document will echo a statement released in April by a group of high-level former British diplomats condemning Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) for being too closely aligned to U.S. policy in Iraq and Israel. Those involved with the new group said their effort was already underway when the British statement was released. The signatories said Kerry's campaign played no role in the formation of their group. Phyllis E. Oakley, the deputy State Department spokesman during Reagan's second term and an assistant secretary of state under Clinton, said she suspected "some of them [in the Kerry campaign] may have been aware of it," but that "the campaign had no role" in organizing the group. Stephanie Cutter, Kerry's communications director, also said that the Kerry campaign had not been involved in devising the group's statement. The document does not explicitly endorse Kerry, according to those familiar with it. But some individual signers plan to back the Democrat, and others acknowledge that by calling for Bush's removal, the group effectively is urging Americans to elect Kerry. "The core of the message is that we are so deeply concerned about the current direction of American foreign policy … that we think it is essential for the future security of the United States that a new foreign policy team come in," said Oakley. Much of the debate over the document in the days ahead may pivot on the extent to which it is seen as a partisan document. A Bush administration ally said that the group failed to recognize how the Sept. 11 attacks required significant changes in American foreign policy. "There's no question those who were responsible for policies pre-9/11 are denying what seems as the obvious — that those policies were inadequate," said Cliff May, president of the conservative advocacy group Foundation for the Defense of Democracies. "This seems like a statement from 9/10 people [who don't see] the importance of 9/11 and the way that should have changed our thinking." Along with Hoar and McPeak, others who have signed it are identified with the Democratic Party. Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., though named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Reagan, supported Clinton in 1992. Crowe has endorsed Kerry. Retired Adm. Stansfield Turner served as Carter's director of central intelligence and has also endorsed Kerry. Matlock said he was a registered Democrat during most of his foreign service career, though he voted for Reagan in 1984 and the elder Bush twice and now is registered as an independent. Several on the group's list were appointed to their most important posts under Reagan and the elder Bush. These include Matlock and Harrop, as well as Arthur A. Hartman, who served as Reagan's ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1981 through 1987; H. Allen Holmes, an assistant secretary of state under Reagan; and Charles Freeman, ambassador to Saudi Arabia under the elder Bush. Many on the list have not been previously identified with any political cause or party. Several "are the kind who have never spoken out before," said James Daniel Phillips, former ambassador to Burundi and the Congo. Oakley, Harrop and Matlock said the effort began this year. Matlock said it was sparked by conversations among "colleagues who had served in senior positions around the same time, most of them for the Reagan administration and for the first Bush administration." Oakley said frustration over the Iraq war was "a large part" of the impetus for the statement, but the criticism of President Bush "goes much deeper." The group's complaint about Bush's approach largely tracks Kerry's contention that the administration has weakened American security by straining traditional alliances and shifting resources from the war against Al Qaeda to the invasion of Iraq. Oakley said the statement would argue that, "Unfortunately the tough stands [bush] has taken have made us less secure. He has neglected the war on terrorism for the war in Iraq. And while we agree that we are in unprecedented times and we face challenges we didn't even know about before, these challenges require the cooperation of other countries. We cannot do it by ourselves." * (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) The signatories Although not explicitly endorsing Sen. John F. Kerry for president, 26 former diplomats and military officials, including many who served in Republican administrations, have signed a statement calling for the defeat of President Bush in November. Their names and some of the posts they have held are: Avis T. Bohlen — assistant secretary of State for arms control, 1999-2002; deputy assistant secretary of State for European affairs, 1989-1991. Retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr. — chairman, President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Committee, 1993-94; ambassador to Britain, 1993-97; chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1985-89. Jeffrey S. Davidow — ambassador to Mexico, 1998-2002; assistant secretary of State for inter-American affairs, 1996. William A. DePree — ambassador to Bangladesh, 1987-1990. Donald B. Easum — ambassador to Nigeria, 1975-79. Charles W. Freeman Jr. — assistant secretary of Defense for international security affairs, 1993-94; ambassador to Saudi Arabia, 1989-1992. William C. Harrop — ambassador to Israel, 1991-93; ambassador to Zaire, 1987-1991. Arthur A. Hartman — ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1981-87; ambassador to France, 1977-1981. Retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar — commander in chief of U.S. Central Command, overseeing forces in the Middle East, 1991-94; deputy chief of staff, Marine Corps, 1990-94. H. Allen Holmes — assistant secretary of Defense for special operations, 1993-99; assistant secretary of State for politico-military affairs, 1986-89. Robert V. Keeley — ambassador to Greece, 1985-89; ambassador to Zimbabwe, 1980-84. Samuel W. Lewis — director of State Department policy and planning, 1993-94; ambassador to Israel, 1977-1985. Princeton N. Lyman — assistant secretary of State for international organization affairs, 1995-98; ambassador to South Africa, 1992-95. Jack F. Matlock Jr. — ambassador to the Soviet Union, 1987-1991; director for European and Soviet affairs, National Security Council, 1983-86; ambassador to Czechoslovakia, 1981-83. Donald F. McHenry — ambassador to the United Nations (news - web sites), 1979-1981. Retired Air Force Gen. Merrill A. McPeak — chief of staff, U.S. Air Force, 1990-94. George E. Moose — assistant secretary of State for African affairs, 1993-97; ambassador to Senegal, 1988-91. David D. Newsom — acting secretary of State, 1980; undersecretary of State for political affairs, 1978-1981; ambassador to Indonesia, 1973-77. Phyllis E. Oakley — assistant secretary of State for intelligence and research, 1997-99. James Daniel Phillips — ambassador to the Republic of Congo, 1990-93; ambassador to Burundi, 1986-1990. John E. Reinhardt — ambassador to Nigeria, 1971-75. Retired Air Force Gen. William Y. Smith — deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command, 1981-83. Ronald I. Spiers — undersecretary-general of the United Nations for political affairs, 1989-1992; ambassador to Pakistan, 1981-83. Michael Sterner — deputy assistant secretary of State for Near East affairs, 1977-1981; ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, 1974-76. Retired Adm. Stansfield Turner — director of the Central Intelligence Agency (news - web sites), 1977-1981. Alexander F. Watson — assistant secretary of State for inter-American affairs, 1993-96; deputy permanent representative to the U.N., 1989-1993. * Source: Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change

Since I live full time as a women since 9 months I feel I am entitled to contribute in the gals' section. I very rarely wear pantyhose because I find them ennoying to pull back up after having been to the ladies room. I mostly wear either stockings with garters (mostly plain 4 straps) under my underwear, so they remain in their original postion using in the bathroom. Or when I wear slacks in winter or ankle length skirts I wear the below the knee (cheap throw away) pull up nylons and never found them restrictive on my narrow calves. These combinations also allow much more essential fresh air around the genital area. Love, Laurence

When I was a young guy my parents bought me standard flip flops when we went to the beaches in France, Spain or Italy, but I never liked them because of the sand crawling between the toes and the divider, and the ultra flat sole hurting my calves and tendons. As soon as I was independant I looked for a similar but more practical concept and finally found that during a 3 month stay in california in 1976. In Sacramento I found flip flops with a straw inner sole, thick soft straps and about a 2 inch wedge heel incorporated in the white sole. Now these were practical and comfortable but only on solid surfaces. For my holiday with relatives in Redondo beach I bought flip flops mounted on a tall platform and serious wedge. I never got problems with sand between my toes anymore. The rest was traditional and strong and I laughed a bit with the life time warrany sticker, but they are still in very good shape after 28 years of wearing.

In the meantime I was lucky to see the style become fasion again since a few years and bought a few similar styles lately. All can be seen on my webpage (linked below) on the Sandal/slipper page. With the 30°C temperature we had today I wore the Pink Steve Madden ones to run errands downtown for 2 hours. They might not be as elegant as heeled sandals, but for the people familiar with the Hasselt cobblestones they surely are ideal. Besides that they are attractive because nowhere in Belgium you can find these styles.

I also wore some Japanese Getas (the wooden plip flops with a square sole on 2 wooden elevations called ha?) in the 70's. These were fun and after a while easy, but attracted too much attention (noise) and were impossible and dangerous to handle car pedals.

I saw those kitten heeled flip flops again today but find the price too high (25 Euro) for a model that still looks cheap and uninspired at the front.

After about a year's absence on the board I note that both Al Quada and J-Turbo remain as stubborn as ever about their beliefs. They both appear to have lost their abilities to relativate and see the big picture in the world. I won't get involved into this (anymore) and will check this tread next year again, hopefully after peace on the terrain and on this board has won. PS: J-Turbo, don't sleep too tight, most people are not as convinced as you that your strong nation has learned all the lessons and that Al Quada will therefore not be in the possibilty to attack you again.

Hi guys, I'm alive and kicking in my new appartment but still have lots of work and little money to finnish this newly built place. After finally finding some time to check the forum again I was flattered reading those comments and encouragements. In a nutshell, I have been so busy the last months I used up all my physical and psychic strength and nearly broke down last weekend. I now eliminated self imposed deadlines and am catching up with sleep and calming down. My transition is still going as planned with my Facial Feminisation Surgery planned for august 18. After that 12 hour operation I will need months of rest outside of the sunshine so probably I will have time to resume writing some stories on my website. For the rest I have a sense of hapiness I even didn't think was possible and havn't regretted any step I've done so far, even being broke and having lost some dear ones. As for some individual comments: mules4ever: I remember crossing a young guy in heels on a slopy street of Cascaïs in 2002, was that you? I indeed got my ears pierced more than 6 months ago and wear earrings every day. Bubba 136: if you are really interested in my transition, feel free to e-mail me. Heelfan: I was just a plain straight street heel wearer as well till some events around age 50 triggered my mind and out of the blue I made the decission to become transgendered and later on realized I was a transsexual in hiding since decades. I never have been a tv, just skipped that stage. My diary unfortunately has been less exciting as before, partly because of lack of time and activities, but also because wearing any of my 182 pair of shoes as a women is just natural and not worth much comments compared to a few years ago when wearing them in male mode was definitely worth mentioning. Firefox: You are right, my official namechange to Laurence is in the pipeline and that's the way I like to be called now. I know my sex change is still some time to go (spring 2005?), but my gender is definitely female since more than six months. She and her are now much more appropriate when referring to me. Anyway, Hi to all my old friends on this forum and happy heeling to you.

Hi guys, thanks for the compliments and welcome back words. In fact if you look at my for sale section you can see I'm disposing already a lot of shoes that were appropriate to my previous transgender phase. More will follow when I find time to sort everything out. I hardly wear anything (clothing or shoes) from that period anymore and am stuck with quite a wardrobe of long wide pants and platform or wedge shoes I wore in male mode. Even my hidden heeled shoes gather dust now as I prefer to wear elegant finer heeled models every day. Even all my male clothing will have to go soon because I will not move them in my new appartment anymore. The budget is tight and selling items will help me pay for my expensive transition. This also means I hardly buy any new shoes but I have sufficient stock to survive for a while. Take care guys and wear your heels proudly, grtz, Laurence

Hi all,

I'm proud to announce my return on the web after a 5 months absence. I still have not been able to retrieve my old URL so I got myself a new one. As from now please bookmark my new URL www.highheel.be

While I continued updating the site when it was off the air you can start reading the about me pages as from october 2003 to be completely updated on what happened to me (shoewise).

Grtz from Laurence aka Highluc

Hi Bubba, thanks for your concern. I'm now more than halfway in the facial hair removal, have taken anti androgens and been living 24/7 in my desired gender since 4 months, and have resumed the intake of feminine hormones. This year I plan a 10 hour FFS (facial feminisation surgery) around June if I have the extra money from the selling of my present house. I'm awaiting the completeion of my new apartment in Hasselt by March and soon after will initiate logopedy training to raise my voice. The rest of the year will be used to consolidate the already undertaken changes and allow my face to heal for a few months. The rest probably will be for 2005. I hope you'll all find as much hapiness as I do in 2004, grtz, Laurence

I'm still feeling sorry the website is not up yet but the problem is still my old domainname and independant from my abilities. I hope I'll be up early 2004 and wish you all happy heelings for this coming year. Grtz, Highluc

surely there are electrologists nearer to Belgium than Texas!

Emma

No electrologist in Belgium is authorized to provide local anesthesy. In Dallas they can work 8 hours a day with 2 very experienced efficient girls on my face while anywhere else it is max 45 minutes (due to pain) at a much slower rate and nowhere near a complete clearing every 6 weeks leading to a 2 to 300 hours treatment in almost 2 years with much more pain. The choice therefore was easy for me and the end price competitive considering driving 300 times to an electrologist 70 km from home versus flying 6 times to the usa at 400 Euro per round trip or less than 1000 $ including trip, rental car, hotel and food.

You were right, its the removal of all my facial hair in order to be more presentable in my new image in my quest for truth and hapiness through transgenderism. Most people can get their facial hair removed by laser but you need good contrast between dark hairs and pale skin. My predominent white hairs forced me to the elecrtology method and the most efficient people for that are in Dallas. More details on their website http://www.electrology2000.com/

I'll keep you informed through this chanel when my heel website is available again. Bye to all, Highluc (but in fact I should sign with Laurence)

Hi all, I'm still alive and kicking but on the other hand extremely busy and since a few weeks can not find the (long) time needed to read all the new posts on this forum each day. I also travel to Dallas Texas on a regular basis (beard electrology) and therefore have little time left updating my website. On the other hand, while transferring my domain name from one provider to another (cheaper Belgian one) last week some things went wrong with the US provider just removing my domain access without transferring the rights (at the end of the contract) to my new provider. On top of that I seem unable to get my redirect point at a temporary explanation page so I am cut off from communicating to you all. Because of my imminent USA travel between 3 and 16 november I will be unable to correct anything soon and hope you will show some patience before my site will be up again under its former URL and domain name. Happy heeling to all from Highluc.

Another excellent website full of information and links about transgenderism is the one from Lynn on http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/TS.html

I expect that there are members of this forum who will be able to give you much better advice than me on how to conduct yourself in women's clothes, listen to their advice and I'm sure you will have a ball in Hawaii, we are all going to be very interested in how you got on.

I also expect a lot of members on this board will not be tempted getting involved in giving such advise to a 15 year old minor boy. In many countries you could get busted for such "advise". Think twice on what you advise to underage people, in real but especialy on the internet.