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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 2018)
Vendors Page 6 a dress.’” Still, Tina holds out hope that one day, “they’ll realize the truth.” Arriving in Portland 2 1/2 years ago marks a turning point in Tina’s life. “From day one, I didn’t have to hide. I BY SOPHIE OUELLETTE-HOWITZ C O N T R I B U T I N G W R IT E R mean, the homeless shelters! If you identify as female, you can use the female shelters. ina Rayearine Drake adds sugar and That was a big thing for me how open milk to her coffee cup first, then and inviting Portland is.” pumps in the steaming hot liquid It’s a stark contrast to Utah, the place from the carafe. In this, as in all she does, Tina previously called home. she acts with well-considered intent “It’s very anti-LGBT, ahti-trans,” she Choosing her name was no exception. said. “Tina, my first name, I’ve always loved,” ' In Utah, to live openly as her she said. “Rayeanne is an extension of my true self was “almost impossible,” mother’s middle, name, Anne, and Drake is she said. “I probably would simply my favorite mythical animal.” have ended up taking Drakes, for those who don’t know, are my own life at some small, legless dragons with long tails and point, having to hide, impressive wing spans. In December, this or I would have been meaning-laden name became Tina’s legal miserable all my ■1 name, and the gender markers on her life. Coming out government documents now confirm her here, . true gender. everything “It’s a wonderful, wonderful time,” she has been so said. “It’s freedom from a lie I had to tell much myself all my life. It literally was a weight better, j j lifted off my shoulders.” To And that weight had been building for a very long time. Since she was 4 or 5 years: old, Tina knew there was a mismatch between her inner self and the expectations placed on her by the world she was living in. “I was never the masculine type,” she said. “I was always playing with my sister Tina Drake © C E N T R A L C IT Y CO FFEE ¿DfdnhtuelL ¿D&yaacL. Sourcing & roasting craft coffee to benefit programs at Central City Concern. IN STORES New Seasons Ma rket, Whole Foods, Food Front' Cooperative Grocery, Green Zebra, Chuck's ' Produce, Food Fight!, Cherry Sprout Produce, and • Know Thy Food. AT YOUR OFFICE Interested in serving Central City Coffee atyour office? Get in touch with us and we can help you make that happen. 503.226.7387 . ON OUR WEBSITE Buy Central City Coffee online and have it shipped directly to you or a friend, AT KASBAH MOROCCAN CAFE Get your espresso favorites at Old Town's newest spot (201 NW Davis Street), featuring Central City Coffee! Follow our Facebook page for updates and special's.I * centralcitycoffee.org facebook.com/CentralCityCoffee cofFee@ccconcerh.org Answers to Page 15 Puzzles B and with her toys, dressing up in my mother’s clothing.” As sh e grew up, T in a T e ^ n T n n g m g h e r inner self out into the light, which led to a schism between her and her “die-hard Mormon” family. “I was pretty much told to go to hell,” she said. “My sister flat-out told me - and it’s one of the things that made me even more determined - ‘You will never be a woman; you will simply always be a man in Sheeptoast L 9 8 6 Z p s 8 £ S Z 8 p Z i L £ 6 P 6 9 S t 8 9 t L £ S £ 8 p 9 L S' 6 Z L Z £ 9 8 6 8 P Z L 9 P 6 I S 9 6 P 8 p S Z L £ S Z P 6 i L 8 9 8 p S 6 J. 8 9 L 8 Z Street Roots • Jan. 19-25, 2018 eveiy other trans woman and man out- there, don’t be afraid to take the steps you need to take.” The conviction Tina needed to take those steps comes from her mother, who died in 2011. She saw Tina for who she truly was and accepted her completely. “She was everything,” Tina said. “I carry a small plaque that says: ‘Everything I am, I owe to my mother.’” The bond between them was forged in the kitchen, where Tina began cooking with her mother a t age 7. Today, two of Tina’s biggest dreams come from her enduring love of cooking: first, to travel Old Route 66 from beginning to end, trying famous dishes from the cities and states she passes through, and second, to open “a bicycle pull-along style hot dog cart.” She’s already developed a menu of gourmet, experimental creations: “a pizza dog, a BLT dog, and my specialty would he a cheesesteak dog.” She’s calculated how much she would need to save from the money she earns selling Street Roots to purchase a solar- powered RV for her road trip and get her hot dog cart up and running. “I know I can make it happen,” she said. “People talk about not haying hope, but that’s the one thing that can never be taken away from you. I get that belief from my mother. She always said you can do anything you put your mind to. No matter what, no matter how hard the obstacles I will find a way around. E ith er that, or I’ll kick that door right open and walk right through.” Tina sells Street Roots outside Target in Downtown Portland. by Elizabeth Considine .
