There were only 4 people present at this meeting, which is disappointing for this time of year. Although NSA chapter meeting attendance is wildly unpredictable, lower attendance usually occurs during the summer. For those of you who weren't at the meeting - you know this goes on your permanent record don't you? You can redeem yourselves by attending all NSA chapter meetings for the rest of your lives. See how easy that is?
We opened with introductions along with the question: "When you were a kid, did you have any pets & what do you remember about them?" One member talked about a Yorky Terrier named Max he had from when he was about 9 till he graduated from college, which meant the dog would have been about 84 in people years. One day, after getting into some paint, the dog disappeared for 8 days. He was eventually found at the local pound, but soon after sadly had to be euthanized due to a number of problems.
Another member talked about a cat named Stinker he had for part of his childhood & teen years. It was a big orange Manx cat - the ones with a stubby tail & high rear legs. The member thought the cat was very smart, being able to open slightly ajar doors with his paw. He had other fond memories of the cat.
There was general agreement that cats were easier to take care of than dogs.
This led to a short discussion about the fact that most people who stutter usually don't stutter when they talk to animals. I don't know that any research has determined why this is so - another mysterious aspect of stuttering. If only all the people in the world who don't stutter could be turned into animals! OK, maybe that would be a little extreme.
A member talked about how his speech has been regressing lately, since he completed an intensive, 3 week therapy program where he had made great progress. We talked about how this is common. There are several well known intensive therapy programs for stuttering, and over the years I've heard similar stories about a person's speech regressing afterward. Some people in individual therapy experience the same thing. One long-time NSA member said he stutters least in chapter meetings. All of this has to do, I think, with how comfortable we are speaking to those around us, whether or not they know we stutter & have heard our worst blocks, & if we think they are going to "judge" us. If only the world was one big NSA chapter meeting! OK, maybe that would also be a little extreme.
We talked about how time pressure effects stuttering. Stuttering & anxiety about stuttering invariably increase during rapid fire conversations, or when you're expected to respond quickly to a question. To deal with this, one member talked about a technique he learned in a therapy program: pause before responding in a speaking situation. The pause is only for a second or two. This allows you to "own" the situation & steer the conversation in the direction you want. You can use this all the time - whether you think you're going to stutter or not. The member has had good success with this.
That's all for now. The next meeting is on Thursday, November 13, same time, same place, led by fearless leader Matt. Remember the mantra: Second & Fourth Thursdays - 5:45PM - Kaiser.
Now I think I'll work on a science fiction story about a planet where everyone is an animal in an NSA chapter meeting. I'll let you know how it turns out.
RIP Jack Bruce 1943-2014
