November 24, 2020

Post date: November 25, 2020

It was a great meeting last night as 8 of us zoomed in for the meeting.  A big welcome to first timer Megan, so great to meet you, Megan, and hope to see you again.  Also great to see Hannah, George, Chris M, Mike M, Natalie, myself and our NSA Regional Coordinator from California, Jeff O.  After our check-in round robin, discussion ranged between the ways that each of us are on our journeys of acceptance (The big "A" word), how we each define that term, and the topic of how the "journey with stuttering" has molded and shaped us.  We talked about whether or not we felt that stuttering defined us or was just one part of the whole person.   We all tended to agree that, in general, we are more compassionate, empathetic, brave, resilient and risk-taking.  We like those characteristics and many felt that they'd not trade them for the ability to speak fluently in their lives.  We talked a lot about the need for public education and that half or more of that burden falls on us, as we disclose and share with others about stuttering.  Then we talked about famous people that stutter.  Marybeth had sent out some links on this hot topic before the meeting; who is more talked about now than the President-elect, Joe Biden??  

Several people mentioned Annie Glenn  (https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/annie-glenn) as a favorite because she certainly stepped up to the plate when needed, even though she never sought any kind of lime-light. 

Marybeth discovered that our own Maine native and Civil War Hero, Joshua Chamberlain, was a stutterer.  (https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/general-battled-stuttering).  

Those "in the know" understand that Marilyn Monroe (https://www.stutteringhelp.org/famous-people/marilyn-monroe) certainly lived with the challenge and most likely developed her "breathy speech" as a strategy for more fluency.  

In general, we appreciate the "famous people" who owned their stuttering and advocated for public education. 

And so that was the meeting in a large nutshell!!  Hope you all have a very good, safe, and healthy Thanksgiving.  At the time this was written, Marybeth's pies are in the oven!