Answering What Does One Do When Feeling Entirely Disposable?

What does one do when feeling entirely disposable? My response: Disposable is discovering, “Oh, shit, I’m stuck on someone else’s shelf! This ain’t the fucking shelf I want to be stuck on. These mutherfuckers don’t even like their own shelf. No wonder they think everything on their shelf is disposable. I need to get the…

How to Get Better at Public Speaking

Step 1: Show up In 2010, my first experience with attempting to get better at public speaking was a disaster. I was too scared to attend my first Toastmasters meeting, so half-way there I turned my car around and went back home! The next week I followed through and attended, even though opening the door…

A Good Harvest

(First written between July and Aug of 2013) YES! This is a Good Harvest! Family has it’s ups and downs, but the goal is always the same. You want to be able to jump up and yell: YES! This is a Good Harvest! When I was a kid, Dad always talked about a Good Harvest….

Toastmasters International Semifinals 2nd-place Winning Speech – A Good Harvest – 2013

Click here to read just the story, A Good Harvest, without all of the staging cues. A GOOD HARVEST Final draft: August 20, 2013 • Read-through time: 6:45 (Speech text with === [stage directions] ===) === OPENING OF SPEECH === === CENTER-STAGE BACK === [Starting at the back of the stage, walk to the front…