When Ann first asked me to join her and her other ‘members’ at an outdoor Toastmasters meeting last week, I said that I would but, honestly, expected it to be a mellow and rather quiet experience. Simply put, I was wrong.

The reason(s) that people join a group like Toastmasters is to work on and polish their public-speaking skills and/or leadership skills. This group started in 1924 and now has members in 145 countries. Ann had been working with the people we gathered with last night via Zoom until this whole Covid crisis was finally controlled somewhat.

Now, the meeting last night took place on a patio area at the Waterbury Public Library and there were eight of us there, including a gentleman from England, a woman from Algeria and another woman from Germany. That may have been one of my favorite parts of the night, as juvenile as it might sound because I loved hearing the variety of accents throughout the meeting.

Now, on this night, there were only two speeches scheduled to be given, one of which was Ann, but what I really admired was how calmly each one of them presented their different subjects. I’m no Einstein but I know that it takes courage to get up in front of people you hardly know and make a speech that you hope people are going to take something away from or just enjoy listening to.

The woman who presented the first speech was the German gal, who spoke about one way that she kept herself amused during the heart of the pandemic: watching reruns of the old sitcom classic Barney Miller to find some old-fashioned comic relief.

Ann spoke next about building a relationship on the workplace in the next speech, and I came away thinking that, ‘For two ladies who aren’t big on public speaking, they sure made it look pretty easy.’ I was impressed because I do admire those who can speak in front of total strangers without panicking. It’s amazing!

The men and women who met last night knew how to have a good time from start to finish! There was a lot of light joking and laughing, which I believe helped not only Ann, but the other woman feel a bit more comfortable when it was their turns to talk. Thanks to all for a great time!