Six members were present for this meeting, a 50% improvement from the last meeting - thanks to those who came. Because there will not be a meeting on the 4th Thursday this month (Thanksgiving), this was a "combined" meeting, led jointly by fearless leaders Matt & myself. Also, there will be only one meeting next month on December11, as the 4th Thursday is Christmas day. The December 11 meeting will be a pot luck holiday celebration meeting. Be there! (And bring something edible).
We opened with introductions along with the question: Name something interesting you did recently or what activity do you enjoy? (Sort of 2 questions in one). One person recently attended an air show near Las Vegas that included the Thunderbirds, the precision flying team of the U.S. Air Force. Because his brother-in-law is a crew chief, he and some others got to introduce themselves to each pilot individually. Needless to say, the member got to use his fluency techniques. He talked about witnessing the flight of of the F22 Raptor, an aircraft capable of incredible in-air maneuvers. On this same general topic, the member mentioned that his grandmother in New York State, aged 100, recently made headlines by jumping out of an airplane! It made the local newspaper here (Orange County Register) with a photo. And, yes, she used a parachute. Another member mentioned trying to join the Air Force & being turned down because of his stuttering - a loss for the Air Force, alas. Another member recently attended the American Film Institute (AFI) Film Festival in LA. He and his wife drove up to LA & back 3 days in a row, seeing 3 feature length films & 2 sets of short films. He highly recommends a Russian film called "Leviathan," which may come out in general circulation soon. The director of the film was present afterwards (with a translator) for a Q&A session. The member admits he tried to get up the courage to ask a question before time ran out but couldn't quite do it. Maybe next time. Other members talked about enjoying playing basketball, driving tractors, learning a new framework for programming websites & working out. The person who enjoys driving tractors brought his bullhorn along again. He said he doesn't stutter as much when talking through the bullhorn. Obviously, this is a breakthrough in stuttering therapy: all we have to do is use a bullhorn when speaking! Might be a little hard to whisper, though, and not so good for intimate conversations. One member talked recently to Speech Language Pathology students at Cal State Fullerton & enjoyed "educating" them about stuttering. This member also talked about how frustrating stuttering can be. He applied for a job as a college lecturer & was turned down because he stuttered in the audition. This was very clear to him even though he wasn't specifically told this. He majored in Chinese in college but later started a whole new career as a software engineer because he couldn't find a proper job in his chosen field because of his stuttering. This same person talked about a fluency technique he developed based on a variation of voluntary stuttering. It involves purposely repeating the beginning of words you would normally stutter on as a kind of "stalling tactic." It has worked very well for him. We talked a little about how people who stutter are perceived by fluent people. It's kind of a Catch 22 - if you don't talk very much because you stutter, you may be seen as anti-social. If you talk & stutter, others may think negatively of you, at least until they get used to your stuttering, if they ever do. The interesting point was made that some people who stutter severely don't seem to be adversely effected. A member works with someone who stutters fairly severely, but either isn't aware he stutters or isn't bothered by it. The member approached him about this, but he didn't want to talk about it. The member said it apparently never enters his co-worker's mind to be ashamed or embarassed about his stuttering. The group labeled him a "happy stutterer''. How does a "regular stutterer" become a happy stutterer? If all people who stutter were happy stutterers, would there be any need for speech therapy or even the NSA? Serious questions to ponder.
That's all for now. Again, next meeting is the pot luck on Thursday, December 11, which will be the only meeting in December - same time, same place. A happy Thanksgiving to all. Don't eat too much turkey. Gobble gobble.
