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I chose the best calf out of our small herd and began to halter
break him. Every day I fed him. Some days I groomed him. When we
took him to weigh- in, my calf weighed 540 pounds.
We had some fun meetings, and some work details. Once I
helped work at Bingo. We removed rubbish from the ditches and,
always, a potluck followed. We went on a tour to see everyone's farm
and where they cared for their 4- H animals.
February is the month for speeches. I wrote on Purelli Natural
Horsemanship, because I had earned Level One last summer. I took
my Purelli manual and read it to Grandma. She took notes as she
listened to me read. I took them home and Mum helped me put some
thoughts on cards. Then I practiced, practiced, practiced. I read the
speech to Dad, to Grandma, to my sisters and my Mum until I could
say it by heart, with just a quick look at my notes.
The day for the speeches came, and all us kids, mums, dads
and grandparents gathered in the Community Hall. Several
schoolteachers and a local author had volunteered to be judges.
Everyone had written their speeches, but not everyone had
practiced. Some read them. Some spoke loud and clear. Some
stuttered, and some cried. I chewed my gum, real hard.
All that practice paid off! I did my speech okay. But then... we
had to do an impromptu, a one minute speech on a subject they had
chosen, with only one minute to prepare. My time was coming fast as I
took my place on the bench. I sat with my fists clenched. My shoulders
got tense.
My time came. Sports was the title of my talk. " Great," I
thought, " I can do that." I stood up to signal my willingness to begin.
The chairperson introduced me and I walked confidently right
up to the front. I did my introductions. I spoke about my title. Twenty
seconds later I just stood there, repeated myself, and stopped. No
thoughts running around in my head. No words coming out of my
mouth. Silence... awkward, embarrassing silence. " I guess that's it," I
sputtered to the audience, who politely clapped, just as they had for the
rest who did well, or did not.
Then we waited. Who would win? What marks would we get?
Who would go on to the next contest of 4- H speaking?
The judges added up marks, made remarks, and conferred
with each other, while us kids sweated it out. It seemed to take forever,
but there were leftovers from the potluck lunch, and we headed for the
dessert table.
Marks finished at last, the meeting was called to order and
each of us received the judges' comments and report card.
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Write On! |
| Language | en |
| Date | 2004 |
Description
| Title | Page 55 |
| Language | en |
| Transcript | I chose the best calf out of our small herd and began to halter break him. Every day I fed him. Some days I groomed him. When we took him to weigh- in, my calf weighed 540 pounds. We had some fun meetings, and some work details. Once I helped work at Bingo. We removed rubbish from the ditches and, always, a potluck followed. We went on a tour to see everyone's farm and where they cared for their 4- H animals. February is the month for speeches. I wrote on Purelli Natural Horsemanship, because I had earned Level One last summer. I took my Purelli manual and read it to Grandma. She took notes as she listened to me read. I took them home and Mum helped me put some thoughts on cards. Then I practiced, practiced, practiced. I read the speech to Dad, to Grandma, to my sisters and my Mum until I could say it by heart, with just a quick look at my notes. The day for the speeches came, and all us kids, mums, dads and grandparents gathered in the Community Hall. Several schoolteachers and a local author had volunteered to be judges. Everyone had written their speeches, but not everyone had practiced. Some read them. Some spoke loud and clear. Some stuttered, and some cried. I chewed my gum, real hard. All that practice paid off! I did my speech okay. But then... we had to do an impromptu, a one minute speech on a subject they had chosen, with only one minute to prepare. My time was coming fast as I took my place on the bench. I sat with my fists clenched. My shoulders got tense. My time came. Sports was the title of my talk. " Great," I thought, " I can do that." I stood up to signal my willingness to begin. The chairperson introduced me and I walked confidently right up to the front. I did my introductions. I spoke about my title. Twenty seconds later I just stood there, repeated myself, and stopped. No thoughts running around in my head. No words coming out of my mouth. Silence... awkward, embarrassing silence. " I guess that's it," I sputtered to the audience, who politely clapped, just as they had for the rest who did well, or did not. Then we waited. Who would win? What marks would we get? Who would go on to the next contest of 4- H speaking? The judges added up marks, made remarks, and conferred with each other, while us kids sweated it out. It seemed to take forever, but there were leftovers from the potluck lunch, and we headed for the dessert table. Marks finished at last, the meeting was called to order and each of us received the judges' comments and report card. |
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