A tough week for Leslie

As anyone who knows me knows, I HATE speaking in front of a group. I am too timid to even speak up in a Bible class, so being in front of an audience is over-the-top trauma. I reluctantly did programs back in the 1980s and early 90s, but it always made me so sick that I decided I just couldn't do it anymore. After I put together the "Extreme Makeover" program and showed it back in May, I keep getting asked to show it to other groups. This week I had two back-to-back programs. On Tuesday, I did a powerpoint slide program about the Post Library to the Kiwanis Club. A tough audience made up of 60 men. I asked if there were any women in the group and was told there were lots of women. (I asked if they were in the kitchen cooking and cleaning.) On Wednesday, I did the Extreme Makeover powerpoint program for the Webb City/Carl Junction Rotary Club. Now THAT was really a tough audience. They didn't laugh where they were supposed to--just stony silence and no comments or questions afterwards. I saw one guy who was apparently asleep. However, I've been told by people in both groups that it was very interesting and they enjoyed it. I have now given 5 public presentations in 4 months, and I actually lived through it without getting sick until after it was all over with. I did cheat, though. I went to my doctor last month and asked if he'd prescribe some anti-anxiety meds to help me get through it. So between pills and lots of prayer, I was surprisingly calm. I have another program scheduled in September that will probably be a big one--at Spiva, where they usually have large crowds.