We All Have Flaws

"Your videos and your story is the most inspirational thing ever for a person who stutters as myself."

"Hey! Man! You are awesome, standing up and speaking in front of so many people. I stutter, too - quite badly at times - and I don't have the guts you have. Good on you. I might try to copy your making folk laugh with you rather than at you (as they do to me). Thanks man, for encouraging me."

I often get little messages like these from complete strangers, and it absolutley makes my day like nothing else, the only exception being country fried steak from Cracker Barrell with mash-taters and gravy, but that's a given. I understand how some folks feel about stuttering or any other flaw for that matter. We are so quick to judge people. It's just human nature, so I understand that some folks would just rather keep to themselves rather than feel that others might be mocking them, making fun of them, or judging them. It's amazing President Bush ever speaks. Easy now, I support our Commander in Chief.

Stuttering can really effect or affect people greatly. Clear and concise communication is very important in most lines of work. The space shuttle is supposed to blast off tonight. Imagine stuttering on that countdown. That might cost the taxpayers billions. That's a stretch but you get my point.

We are so quick to judge and that's why people are so insecure with themselves, whether it's a big nose, ugly toes, or stuttering. We have got to get better as a society and maybe folks will be more willing to be themselves.

I cried almost every day when I was kid. The other kids were always making fun of me. Who in the hell wants to get made fun. Know what? I was no different. I made fun of other kids for other reasons. I hate like hell that I did that. Kids are mean. Plain and simple. I wish I could go back and change my behavior but I can't.

My jr high school was 7th and 8th grades only. When I was in the 7th grade, the 8th graders picked on me relentlessly. If I had a nickel for every time I was made fun of, I would have retired at 12. When I became an 8th grader, something happened. I just changed. I realized that this was me and I might as well be me. I understood that it made me unique and I ran with it. For example, instead of dreading to read out loud in classs, I would raise my hand every time volunteering to read. And from that point on, I was in control. I would make a joke, without belittling myself, before anyone else could.

Before that, I was looking up and down the rows, counting the students, trying to figure out what paragraph I had to read, palms sweating, heart racing, pulse pounding, like I was about to testify against Suge Knight, when in actuality, all I had to do was read a paragraph from "Where the Red Fern Grows."

It did get a little old when I was a freshman in high school and the older girls that heard that I stuttered would come up to me and ask me to speak, but hey, at least I got to talk to them.

My thesis is that we all have flaws; some are a little more obvious than others, but we all have flaws and for those that think they don't, well, that's their flaw, and mine right now is this run-on sentence.