The Annals of Show & Tell

Mike Dojc back in the day soaking up the rays in Hawaii

Long before I ever roasted a friend at a wedding or gave a boardroom presentation to a client, my initiation into public speaking came from Show & Tell. While the activity gets started in junior kindergarten it isn't really until grade school when you really start to hone your chops.

Stepping up to the blackboard to address my grade 3 class clutching my journal, I could feel sweat forming in my palms. I had prepared for my homework the day before in front of my bathroom mirror but I was nervous and needed to pee. I should have gone before I walked to school in the morning but it probably wouldn't have made any difference because whenever I get nervous it's like a button is pushed on my bladder and it starts to fill up like a fountain drink. I pushed my knees together and clenched my free fist to stem the flow. Showtime. I opened the journal I had made over the Christmas holiday of my family trip to Maui, Kauai, and Oahu.

"We woke up really, really early in the morning, 3 a.m. on New Year's day 1988. We went in a mini-bus with some other people to get to the top of Haleakala. That's called the summit. It was so dark and rainy and we couldn't see anything. "What a ripoff," said my mom. It was supposed to be a 'see the sunrise trip'. Oh, well. I thought it was still kinda cool. I had never gone up a volcano before. It's also cool that I'm 6 hours younger because I'm in Hawaii!"

Then I passed around a plate of chocolate covered macadamia nuts for everybody in the class (well at least those who weren't allergic to nuts) and got a round of applause and some back slaps from my friends. I knew the nuts would be a nice touch.

This Story was originally published in the Winter 2006 issue of 2 Magazine

Copyright © Mike Dojc 2006

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