My Public Reading of "A Shadow of a Distant Life" at the St. Francis Library

I had another column in the Journal-Sentinel today, and I must apologize if you wasted three precious quarters on it. You should have let your kids raid the gumball machine instead. It was alright prose but I thought it was empty of soul and sincerity. This isn't false modesty or low self-esteem, just an honest opinion. So again, my bad. I'll do better next time.

On the other end of the spectrum we have that fiction writing contest held by a local suburb. No, I didn't win the contest. But, the judge said, my story had developed a little following, one that argued in its favor so strongly that the winner was decided by a hair. With that in mind, she asked if I'd attend the program and give a public reading of my work.

I said "Sure", but I was officially trying to squirm my way out of it as late as this afternoon. Oh, in my heart I knew I was going to go through with it - why else would I have shaved and changed my skivvies on a day off? - but the idea of standing in front of eighty people and reading a complete short story terrified me.

All the more reason to do it, of course. So at 6:30 Tuesday night YaYa and I traveled to St. Francis Public Library's meeting hall.



After the winners of the juvenile brackets read their work, the judge called me up front. She gave the audience the same explanation she'd given me (my first confirmation it wasn't all flattering b.s.), pronounced my name right (which always shocks me) and I got down to business.

"It's fitting that this was a horror story contest," I told the audience, "Because right now I'm terrified just standing here."



I am not a great speaker, but I have improved with time and practice. I enunciated, I stressed this and paused after that, and from time to time I looked up and made sure to make eye contact with the audience - and all the while my hands were shaking. And then, after five minutes or so, I was done.



"Wow," some people in the audience said - a top 100 Danny moment for sure - and then I got a round of applause. The M.C. returned to the mike "I think I heard some 'wows' out there, didn't I?" she said. "Thank you very much."



I returned to my seat next to a beaming YaYa and listened to the rest of the program, which included a presentation by ghost researcher and author Chad Lewis.

[Oh, by the way: I think my story was better, but the winner was a heck of a public speaker/reader. Tip o' the hat to him for that. I've got a lot to learn.]

After the program a few pats on the back, some compliments, a thank you from me to the judges, and we were on our way back home.

It was a good evening. A really good evening.