Well, I did finally experience that Portland oddity otherwise known as VooDoo Doughnut. Everyone lately has been going to VooDoo Doughnut. I tried to go once before but the line was down the street and around the corner, so I had to wait for a more opportune time. So when we saw there was one right by the church where the kids were having the speech competition, we (Elisa and I) decided to give it a whirl. May I say? I don't get it.

Now, I don't think I'm all that thin skinned. I was fine with the whole horror flick sort of aura, the voodoo jelly doughnut, coffin maple bars, etc. All just for fun, and of course it's a pretty eye catching sales gimmick. But I'm not into upside down crosses and pentagrams and there was a lot of that there. But not only that, it stank. And it was scuzzy. And my apple fritter was doughy and undercooked. And for the rest of the day, no matter how many times I washed my hands, I could smell it. All in all, it was just plain gross. Yuck. So I can cross that one off my bucket list, and I will never do it again. I'm sure they are really sad and will miss me frightfully.

Anyway, on to the speech tournament. Are you down? Do you need a bit of encouragement for the generations to come? Go hang out at a NCFCA speech tournament.  Wowzers. You can hear the gospel presented from 50 different directions. You can listen to debate on whether or not we should change nuclear policies dealing with Russia. You can hear how to solve world hunger. (Plumpy Nut. It's the best thing since sliced bread.) You can hear Natural Law debated. Golly, it was fabulous. I love this sort of thing. I felt like my mental muscles were weight lifting all day long. And as that kid in the suit two sizes to big for him is calmly and rationally discusses the effect of Natural Law on the Nuremberg Trials you kind of have to pinch yourself and remember, he's maybe 15? 16?

I'm so glad Elisa is excited to do this. I wish I had gotten my older children into it. No matter what field of study they may want to pursue in the future, being able to present yourself, speak easily and think on your feet will be an asset, whether artist, teacher, scientist, lawyer....Hey,  even auto mechanics need to be able to talk to their customers clearly and inspire confidence!

It was so interesting to be able to judge at this event. If you live near a tournament they always really need judges. They let the parents judge, but if you come in as a community judge (with no kids competing) they give you first pick of the events you want to take. They feed you good food all day long and there was coffee with real cream (Not just the powdered creamer stuff.) and candies on the tables. And you get to watch future leaders in the making honing their skills. You will feel very appreciated. It was a really quality event put on by good people.

Well that's my sales pitch!