The Gift of a Wedding Roast

The Gift of a Wedding Roast This weekend I went to Massachusetts for the wedding of a dear friend of mine.   It was the only wedding ceremony I’ve ever been to where I laughed until I cried for part of it, and simply cried for the rest.   I was deeply moved by the love between this couple, and by the sentiments of their close friends and family who were given an opportunity to share during the ceremony. Between traveling and spending time with friends, I did not have much of an opportunity to craft a blog article.   I did, however, write something very important:   a rhyming wedding toast/roast.   I thought I would share it with you, if nothing else as an example of how to tell a story in a short space.   As you read, pay attention to what details are shared, what is left to the imagination, and how connections are drawn between earlier and later couplets. I acknowledge my father, who is no longer with us in body, but who inspired me by his example to write poems such as these.   Here’s the toast/roast, a bit about what transpired from sharing it, and a few things you might learn from my experience. Wedding Toast/Roast – September 25, 2011 At DNE Camp, a story began Of Leslie (our bride) and Gary (our man). They met at a table across from each other, (Leslie freed up from her duties as mother) And gazed, and gazed, and gazed some more. Then brought their flirtations onTO the dance floor. They danced, and they talked†¦Ã‚   for hours they flirted†¦ This bond that they had just could not be averted. But no matter how well she and Gary were matched, Leslie preferred to stay unattached. This line gave the couple a fairly fine start: â€Å"You CAN have my body but NEVER my heart.† But Gary was sure there was still more to gain. They rendezvoused once on a Turnpike in Maine And yes, since that meeting 15 years ago, A lot has transpired†¦Ã‚   as many here know. There were moves, there were moods, there were protests and OH There were bondings with dogs – the world’s cutest, you know. A year’s separation, and a new job for Gary, All served to bring forth the real chance they would marry. An engagement took shape, and a life more entwined. It seems that for union this pair was designed. And I hear Bucket’s heart shouting â€Å"Never say never!† ‘Cause Gary’s sure got it†¦Ã‚   forever. [Note:   Bucket is Garys nickname for Leslie; capitalized letters indicate emphasis] Unexpected Results I read this poem to a crowd of 125 wedding guests, and had a lot of people ask me about what I do for a living.   One long-time acquaintance asked me if I wrote the poem myself, surprised to find out that I was a writer!   I had the opportunity to share about my resume writing, jokingly telling one of the wedding guests that I write rhyming resumes. I let people know about my more creative resumes, including one that was nominated for a TORI Award in the Best Creative Resume Category.   One wedding guest asked for my card, telling me she was interested in hiring me to help both her and her husband with their resumes.   Another guest has a daughter applying to college, and was thrilled to meet an â€Å"Essay Expert† who offers help with personal statements for college! The Gift of Creative Expression I wrote this wedding poem because I love my friend Gary and had a TON of fun writing and reading it.   Not once did it cross my mind that the poem would lead to business.   Yet that’s exactly what it did.   The experience reminds me that by being yourself, by giving, and by sharing who you are with others, you can obtain unexpected results. Whether you are a business person or a job seeker, keep putting yourself out there and giving your gifts.   If you have a story to tell, tell it.   You never know who might be listening. I invite you to share any wedding toasts or roasts you have written you are particularly proud of†¦Ã‚   or to share an experience of getting an unexpected result just by being/sharing yourself. Category:Grammar Writing TipsBy Brenda BernsteinSeptember 26, 2011 2 Comments Nancy Anderson says: September 27, 2011 at 9:33 am What a wonderful, fun toast! Im sure that there were many smiles and laughs from the bride and groom. Your Dad would be so proud! Youre so right about doing something and then something else comes from it. That is the great thing about life. I enjoyed your toast! Nancy Log in to Reply The Essay Expert says: September 27, 2011 at 9:39 am Thank you Nancy! Yes my dad would be proud. He used to write the verses to go to the song Hey Lolly Lo which creates an even greater limitation in rhythm. Im glad to be carrying on the tradition in my own way. (I once wrote a roast to the tune of Puff the Magic Dragon. That was fun!) Log in to Reply

Courage to Speak is Courage to Succeed

Courage to Speak is Courage to Succeed I am writing this note in May with a full and happy heart on the bus ride home from New York City where I did a two-minute pitch at the Jewish Book Conference. I’d practiced my pitch since February when I first registered for the conference almost everywhere – in the shower, with my kids, on the bus to work everywhere. But it’s a totally different experience when you pitch in front of a large crowd – in this case, 200 people who represented the various Jewish Community Centers among bookstores, festival organizers, bookclubs nationwide. The full-blown decision makers. They are the ones who decide whether to fly me out to various venues around the country to talk about my book’s message of courage during their upcoming programming year. So this brings me to my main point. If you want people to know about your book, the best way to get the word out is to speak about it. There’s something about taking a book off the â€Å"Amazon hinges† and connecting with an audience. Social media can only take you so far.  People see and hear your voice. You feel excited. They sense your passion. And the word spreads. I call this organically building a platform. Back to basics. I stood on that stage and gave that pitch every ounce of my being. There was that strong warrior woman of my Israel Defense Forces past I thought Id parked in the memoir, but that day I brought her back. To New York City. Where the Story began. The pitch: â€Å"It was an accident I got inducted in the Israel Defense Forces. I had no idea what I was getting involved in. My mother, daughter of a Holocaust survivor, child prodigy, Julliard graduate who played alongside Leonard Bernstein, was terrified I’d get blown up But I wanted to prove to my Israeli father that I could be my own person away from my mother’s fears and paranoias of Israel. So I dropped out of college and found myself in the middle of the desert with a bunch of immigrants who ridiculed and bullied me. Aerogram after aerogram, my mother pleaded with me to come home. I got my entire company punished because I arrived late for an inspection. I struggled to complete an eighteen kilometer march for our green beret in basic training. I held down an entire camp during one of Israel’s worst snowstorms in history with just one other Russian girl from my company. Mind you, that’s a great way to bond. As a lone IDF soldier, it was hard to stay courageous, but I managed to earn the best soldier award from then president Chaim Herzog. And I heard my mother say, â€Å"Dorit, you’re a really good kid.† Danny Ayalon, former ambassador to the US, says this about Accidental Soldier: A touching and courageous journey of the female immigrant experience that many readers will sympathize with. But the magic didn’t stop with the pitch. Groups came up to me afterwards to ask questions ranging from how did it feel to write my memoir to how did it feel to come back to the States. One woman eagerly asked if I had additional copies of the book. Her group already received their review copies, but she wanted the one copy I had to give it to four other groups in her area who wanted a speaker to talk about an Israel type experience. Wow! Talk about instant booking! At a busy cafà © in midtown Manhattan, I sat with my publicist, who called the experience â€Å"mind-blowing.† I blew up that room. Faces lit up. People watched as I spoke instead of peering over their thick books of numerous author profiles and copious notes. Through trial and error, Ive learned as an author to do these three things: Write a killer book. Hire a killer editor. Speak. Speak. Speak. I know of no better way to spread the word. And it begins with having the courage and the faith to put yourself out there. To your book writing success, Dorit.