STORIES OF STAMMERERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 4, 20 January 1937, Page 2

STORIES OF STAMMERERS

XII Gtammering is an iuflictioji which ^ evokes most people' s sympathy, vvhile at the same tinie it is hjird for some folk to repress a smile wheu other people are stammering. This, of course, makes the uutortunate stammerer very self-conscious in his afflicfcion and this often precipitates a bad attack, especially in the presence of strangers. But the stammering habit at tltnes gives rise to some humourous incidents, and amusing stories. Few people who heard that fine entertainer, Snazelle, many years ago will forget his story of "The Whistler," a story vvhich centred round a stammerer. Having personally suffered from the habit for over a quarter of a century. untii, in fact, I was nearly ,35 years of age, I can testify to how painful it is fco those so afflicted to bear either the sympathy or ridicule of their listeners. ELowever, this feeling of self-consciotis-ness can be overcome by persons of strong will, and one way is deliberately fco expose one's self to ridicule, so as to learn to grin and bear it. I propose to tell one or two stammering stories which I think may be amusing, and I will start off with one about myself. At oue school break-up ceremony, a chum, Frank Greenaway, afterwards in business as a sawmiller at Dannevirke, and I were on the programme to deliv^r a dialogue. It was .an amusing skit about a dispute between the eyes and the nose, as to which the spectacles ought to belong. By the time we had got into the second verse of the dialogue many o£ the boys were tittering, probably at the amusing dialogue, but I imagined " it was at a sliglit' hesitation of speech I had shown .starting the second verse. This unsettled me, and before the second verse was concluded I reaehed a point where I simply could not pronounce one of the words. I said to my chnm, "Start again." We started again from the beginning, but by this time there was scarcely anyone in the school who was not either smiling or openly laughing, On reaching the word which had been' my downf all at the previous attempt, I again failed to negotiate the obstacle safely, and my chum, .uffable to cpntinue his part because he was laugh ng so muchi, left the floor and went ba,-.k to his seat, leaving me alone on the platform. I remained there, took both parts in the dialogue, and at last finished it and retired. I will not say it was a triumphant conclusion, for it was not, but I had at least upheld the family mbtto, never to yield. There are some commencing words and letters which are always uiore troublesome to pronounce than others are. Words beginning with b, c, d, g, j, p, s, t, v and w, are all more or less hard to get started on at times, thougli often little or no difficulty is exporienced. For many years I found the customary salutation "goqd-day" ,or "good-hye" hard to pronounce, but I always persisted until I . had, completed i

the words even though the person I ti was saluting had passed by. It is amusing to all but. the stammerer to : se© and hear a person commence to say "good-day" to a person approachmg and hear them complete the salutation to a stately but quite unattractive telegrapb pole or lamp post. As many old Napierites will remember, the bailiff at the Napier Magistrate's Oourt for a number of years was a Highlander, Mr. Alexander Breadalbone Campbell, generaily called "Sandy." Saudy was an qld ' army man, an ex-Indian war * veteran, 1 fancy, and he was a soldierly-looking fine figure of a man, looking quite patriarchal with a big white beard. Sandy, however, was a stammerer and had. the affliction r&ther.badiy. But for this he may. have risen to a fairly high rank in the' army. ' The chances of a battle being * over before Sandy could get out th© word of command was too great *a risk to take. . Sandy was '.a prominent figure at every Highland gathering, and at every Ualedoman sports meeting, At these sports meetings he usually won the prize for the best-dressed highlander, and a fiiie specimen of a Seotsman he looked when . clad jn all his brilliant array. Bht he wanted to be something more than merely the best-dressed Highlander. He desired some pfficial* capacity so that he migbt parade the centre of the sports ground looking like some representative of Scotland's historio figures, Robert Bruce or William Wallace,- so to gratify his wish Sandy was made % starter's steward on the day of the sports. " » . Usually Sandy had littl'e else "to do but look majestic, but on oue oecassiona t.ask was given him which is the subject of this story. There had been three heats of a one-mile bicycle handicap and the first and second in each heat qualified for the final. • The ' time for the final heat, however, found five inen on their marks " and one absent. The starter Jack Parker, waited awhile, and then said to Tom Parker, the honorary secretai'y, "Tom, one of the cyclists, Wilson, has not turned up, Can youhurry, him up.. I am waiting to start fche. race." i * "Turning to Sandy, Tqm. said, "Get awa, ' Sandy, to the dressing shed and tell that bicyclist Wilson tbe starter is waiting for him." Sandy walked towards the dressing shed, but C^barlie Jarman and I got there first. I was giving Cbarlle a rub down when Sandy came to the doqr of the shed, and putting his head inside, said, "Is there- » bub-bub-bub-bubbi-bubbi, a bub-bub-bub-bieychst, here named Wuhi-Wuh-Wuh, Wilson?" "Yes, there he is in that corner," said a.man whq wa® being rubbed. down. In the meantime one of the other competitors in the raqe bad tqld the starter that Wilton didn't .intend tb start as^he was waiting to ride in an- . other event later so he had started thjs fiield without him. But Sandy had not heard the report of the pistol, .so, go--

ing up to the man wh^ had been pointed , out to hiiur-he said, ' "Is' your n.-ji-n.-n-uhme Wuh- Wuh- VV uh- Wilson ? ' ' "Yes/'. repjied tho man. "Are yott go-go-go-gojng to »t st-st-start jn this r-r-race?" "No" replied^the mfm, "I'm not." Just-.then Sandy : heard the bell ring for ,the last* jot." j 'Tbis ' iuuu^ed him, and "he sai'd, ^'Well 'if d-d-d-d-doesn't matter a d-d-d-d-d, a d— -n now, the o-b-b-b-blanky race is over." And it was. Another. story relates to the advabce agent for a circus. He came into the office and placed on the connter a card bearing the inscription "Chiarini'i Circns, the greatest shqw on earth," and in the corner the name J- — j M , advance . agent. I said to him, "G-Good-day. I suppose you wish fco arrange about advertising " He replied, "Y-Yes, I dq," Then he said, "D-Po you st-stutterP'* "Yes, I do sometimes," I repljed. "Have you ever tried s-Singing fo ccure it?" he said. "No," I said, "I have heard that singing is good, but I- have no singing voice, and no mnsical ear, so I have hot wished to inflict a noise on my j neighbours." i ^ "Yes, it's g-good all right," said Jimmy. "When I was a hoy I st-stut-tered very b-badly , but a d-doctor told my mother to have me t-taught ssinging, so I learnt, aud it c-c-cured me."' I was sorry for Jimmy for he wa3 evidently jn earnest, wishing to give me good qdvice, but whhreas ; I had only the * one slight slip, he, knowing that he also had faltered % little aH : the outset, had gone from bad to Tjfc worse. Jimmy came to Napier on two occasions after that, .with the aame circus, and I bad mahy conversationa witb him, but I da not think either of us ever again relapsed infq stammering. But, certainly Jimmy'a first introduction was hardly.a good d®WQnstration of a complete cure." The last story is one of- a aort which), perhaps, as happened to youngsters jn various -parts. of the world, and . is likely to happen any where. ' ^ I was going towards ihe school playground in Cliv© Square, wher© the soldiers' Memqrial now ig, when % saw two big boys fighti^g A sentile^aan who came down Milton road asked- the hoya what they were fighting abonf. The bigger boy said, "This b-b-b-bo^ me^ed me. He kno-kno-knows I sfrst-stuttSK, and he mocked me." I di-di-didn't mean to ni-m-m-mock him," said the other boy. I do-dh ** don't know hitn', I st-st-st-st-stutte^, too. and I asked him .wh-wh-wh-whicli was* Car-Oar-Car-Car-Carlyle street. Then he hit me and I hit him, and we've b-b-b-b-been fi-fi-fighting ever. Si-si-si-sinbe." . "Well, .you had befcter stop fighting now .and* shake hands.'? paid the man. "Ri-ri-ri-right," said both boys a(j onoe and they ;shook hafida. , . ■" ■ • . • - ; 4