He was happy and remembered the photo Jess sent of herself (complete with laser background) saying he has “always loved the name Jessica.” He still plays the accordion.

Sara McCaslin is an editor and visual journalist for The Seattle Globalist. She worked for several daily midwest newspapers including The Flint Journal, The Columbia Missourian and The Boone County Journal before moving to Seattle. Sara trains the next generation of journalists through the Globalist Apprenticeship Program and is a graduate of the Journalism School at the University of Missouri.