i started speaking in front of people and really enjoying in on a lark in college.  Our dorm was putting together a halloween party, complete with a talent show.  Someone talked me into coming as the town drunk donned with a lady's wig, trench coat, and an empty wine bottle hidden in a paper bag.  When you add my cerebral palsy to the mix, i played the part to a tee.  I then put together a short comedy routine that people still talk about 30 years later.  I told the story of, when I was a youngster, my mom sending me camp.  She was from the old country, very protective, and decides to write the camp director to inquire about the camp's facilities, specifically the WC (water closet/bathroom).  The camp director receives the letter, reads it, but has no idea what a WC is.  After asking around, he finally determines that WC has to refer to the nearby Wayside Chapel.  With that in mind, he composes a letter, assuring her that she needn't worry.  It is at this point that I reached into my pocket and pulled out the letter:

Dear Madame:

I am so glad you wrote.  I want to assure you that there is a beautiful WC seven miles down the road in a beatiful grove of pine trees and is a  very popular place to go.  It is opened all day on Sundays and also on Wednesday evenings.  My wife and I go on Sundays and usually make a day of it.  The place is generally crowded.  My wife, though, is always able to find a seat but naturally I stand.  ........

It just goes on and on.  It's the joke that got Jack Parr fired fron The Tonight Show which lead to Johnny Carson's big break.

Those were the days!