The Last Windrow: Public speaking can be a terrifying prospect

I've read that the most detested, anxiety-creating, fearful thing a human can do is to speak in front of an audience. I believe that to be true.

Some of my long-ago high school male classmates prided themselves in their masculine abilities.

They could pitch a fastball, shoot a basketball, tote a heavy bale of hay or maybe even tackle a steer. They were, in other words, capable of any task that required pure brawn.

They wore sleeveless T-shirts to show off their "guns" and showed no fear of anything human.

But that all came to a screeching halt when Mrs. Lindgren invited them up to the podium to give a talk in her speech class.

It was only then that their lips began to quiver and their palms began to sweat. I saw the bravest, brawniest, thick-muscled males in the class turn into bowls