“Chocolate”

Toastmasters contest speech for 2009 in the International Speech Contest category; 2nd place in the Area C4 contest event.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is this really based on a true story?
Yes, it is based on a true story – one from my childhood, when I lived in Syracuse (upstate) New York, and one as an adult living in Redondo Beach California. In fact, I had originally written this account in 2006 in my mental health website.

That said, I ate the chocolate not immediately after my husband had suggested it. I actually waited until the next day when I was alone in the kitchen to eat it (then I cried, alone). If my husband had not told me that I should eat it, I would have kept it and given it away, as I’d originally intended.

What kind of chocolate bar?
It was a Hershey’s chocolate bar, plain.

Have you ever seen that homeless man again?
I have, several weeks later, at a local grocery store. By then, he had forgotten me… even if he’d seen me again later that day I suspect he’d not remember me; he visibly suffered from mental illness. I recognized him by the trolley cart that he used. I saw him sitting on the curb near the back of the grocery store, away from the crowds. I had a couple of boxes of nutri-grain bars that I’d bought, and I sat down next to him and asked him if I could give him those. He accepted. He did not recognize me at that moment still.

Image by Hannah Chapman (United Kingdom)

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