I first met Robert when he walked into our Toastmasters meeting at Warner Creek Correctional Facility, a minimum security prison. We were a small group of ten to twelve reliable members. On that particular night we were expecting a new member to give his Icebreaker speech. People usually take a few weeks to write that speech, partly to overcome their shyness and fear, and partly to compose a speech that will withstand the inevitable critique. That person did not show up. Robert offered to step into the spotlight with no script or preparation. He gave a remarkably good speech. Funny, self-effacing, and honest. Robert was a full-blooded Native-American, an Ojibwa from the province of Ontario, Canada. He had left school in the fifth grade and run away from home. First Nation tribal members were given dual US and Canadian citizenship, mostly because their ancestral tribes may well have been forced to move north by the US cavalry. An additional factor was because, prior t...
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