In retrospect, I cannot now remember which was worse: those moments when my flow of speech was disrupted by sputtering consonants, drawn-out vowels and endless repetition, one gush of sound colliding with another, or the unintentional silences, those tongue-tied pauses when I felt unable to produce any sound at all.

Bob Thurber is the author of six books. Regarded as a master of Flash and Micro Fiction, his work has appeared in Esquire and other magazines, been anthologized 60 times, received a long list of awards, and been utilized in schools and colleges throughout the world. He resides in Massachusetts. Visit his website at BobThurber.net.