Idiocy, Bravery, or Neither

I’m suffering from a case of performance anxiety. A few days ago I did something that was either extremely stupid or rather courageous. There’s a fine line between the two extremes where I’m concerned, and I’m sure I won’t know which end of the spectrum my action was on until I can gauge the outcome. Let’s see what precipitated my angst, shall we?

There was this notice on Facebook:

I read it once. Then a second time. “Huh!” I thought cavalierly. “I can do this.”

So without even an ounce of hesitation I sent an email with a link to one of my blog posts. Then I promptly forgot all about it. Until today when I got this email:

Hi Leslie!

Thank you for your interest in reading at our January Literary Salon! We are happy to host an inclusive and open space for writers and artists at all levels of engagement and topic. I would be happy to add you to our reading list for the 17th. It’s encouraged to read for around ten to fifteen minutes, but you’re welcome to adjust that time to better suit your style, content, or comfort.

There was more to the email, but you get the drift. I’ve gotten the okay to share something I’ve written with a group of strangers. Kind of like I do here every day, except they’re going to expect me to read it aloud. Holy cow. Let the performance anxiety kick in.

I know what I’ll read. It’s one of my favorite pieces, but it’ll need to be reworked for a live audience. I’d welcome editing suggestions. Please read the link and then give this girl some ideas!
Unknown's avatar

Author: nananoyz

I'm a semi-retired crazy person with one husband and two cats.

15 thoughts on “Idiocy, Bravery, or Neither”

  1. What a fun adventure you will have! I think you selected a great post to read aloud. I laughed out loud several times as I read this story! If possible, I would try to show those photos of what you felt like going airborne on the waves looked like and what it may have actually looked like. That cracked me up! I am looking forward to reading how it all went.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for taking the time to read it. I’m not sure if I’ll have the opportunity to share any visuals, so I’m thinking about ways I could describe the photos instead.

      Like

      1. I am going to tell you something and I know you love her…but I would rather come to an evening to hear you read and give me your stories than Michelle. Now there you go xxxxxxxx ( AND Ps , I bet she is interesting too xxxxxxxx but see I think you have things on your side about life, very diff things. So you get out there x)

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Don’t change a thing, this is a fabulous and funny story, beautifully written. Your being hoisted from behind back onto the jetski reminds me of the time we hired a yacht for a week and decided to take a swim. It was wonderful until I tried unsuccessfully to pull myself back onto that thing. In the end my husband grabbed my “cossie” and hoisted me back up giving me a marvelous wedgy. I was not happy. Good luck, which I know you won’t need.

    Liked by 1 person

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