Mark recently became a Diabetes Youth Ambassador, which means he rocks. More specifically, it means he'll mentor younger kids with diabetes, and become a diabetes educator, which he explains as "telling people 'YES, I can eat that!'"
The youth group will speak at schools about diabetes. To prepare them, the group leader invited a guest to teach the kids about public speaking.
"How'd it go?" I asked Mark, on the ride home.
"Fine," Mark said.
"How was the guest speaker?" I prodded.
"He was really good!" Mark answered. "He gave lots of good advice. For example, he said you should always use a hooker in your speech."
I almost crashed the car.
"He said WHAT?" I asked.
"A hooker," Mark repeated. "You get people interested by using a hooker--the hooker draws them in, and makes them listen to your speech."
I looked at him in a stunned silence, picturing a lady of the night luring listeners in to hear Mark's speech.
"Step right up, boys," I imagined her saying, winking and blowing kisses at the crowd. "He's gonna tell you all about the 'betes."
It was a funny--and disturbing--image, innocent little Mark giving a speech next to a woman like that.
My silence made Mark a little nervous. He flipped frantically through his notes, until he found the correct word and started snickering.
"A HOOK," he corrected. "You use a hook in your speech--a funny story to draw people in."
This time I giggled, more than a little relieved.
"Not a hooker," he reiterated, snickering a little harder. "Because...well, that would be weird."
"It would," I agreed. "I was nervous for a minute there. Wasn't sure this was the right group for you."
He looked at me, and we both burst into laughter.
"Maybe you need to practice your listening skills instead of your speaking skills," I said.
He agreed, and promised not to use any hookers in his future speeches.
See, he's already learning a lot!
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