Morrie the Toupee Salesman

Continuing my odyssey through the “T” section of the dictionary…

I went to a Toastmasters meeting last night. Over the years, I’ve done a lot of public speaking, starting in high school, actually, with the nightmarish “Debate” class at Loyola High School (Mr. Mukerji’s class, I recall) to my days in a doctoral program (Best Student Paper, ASAC ’94, Best Paper (OR), ASAC ’95, I recall) to various speaking gigs in locations that Kevin and Jay turned their collective noses up at. Invariably I’m

• Not prepared enough
• Lapse into a monotone
• Rush through my material

So that’s why I’m going to continue to go to Toastmasters. My initial impression though is that it feels like I’m joining the moonies – they seem to have the same fervor, and a whole raft of rituals to demonstrate you’ve been initiated. But, on the good side, not a sign of the modern plague known as Powerpoint.