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Shaklee International Toastmasters Club invite everyone interested to learn or improve your speaking skills.

Read the transcript of the speech

00:00 Aaron Beverly an unbelievable story an

00:04 unbelievable story

00:05 Aaron Beverly

00.15 [applause] the contest chair was relieved my title is only 3 words

00:23 long but friends why is this story

00:28 unbelievable June 2018 I fly to India to

00:33 attend the wedding of my friend Brandon

00:34 and his fiancee Devicka Brandon and

00:38 family are white Devicka and family are

00:41 Indian and I am the only black man there

00:44 I can’t help but feel different but I

00:49 try my best to blend in I buy formal Indian

00:52 wedding attire what do you think

00:56 I even participate in a sacred Indian

01:00 wedding ritual protecting the groom’s

01:02 shoes during the car ride to the wedding

01:08 my friend

01:09 Sunit explains this ritual when

01:12 Brandon takes off his shoes during the

01:13 ceremony Devicka bridesmaids will

01:16 try to steal them the grooms men protect

01:18 the shoes from the bridesmaids if they

01:21 win they hold the shoes ransom forcing

01:25 Brandon to buy them back it’s a game

01:27 Sunit says I think it sounds like a

01:30 spy movie Sunit says Aaron the

01:34 bridesmaids will try sweet talk they

01:36 will try a deception but don’t give the

01:38 shoes to anybody will you accept this

01:41 mission quick fact about me when I am

01:45 given a mission I take it very seriously

01:48 I look at Sunit and I say I accept the

01:52 mission at the wedding ceremony Brandon

01:57 takes off his shoes I swoop in grab the

01:59 shoes sit down in the front row smooth

02:01 stealthy I feel like a black James Bond

02:06 the leader of the bridesmaids walks over

02:09 she smiles at me but gentlemen have you

02:13 ever seen a girlfriend or wife smile yet

02:15 at the same time you just felt scared

02:19 I call her the ominous smiler

02:26 she says Aaron you look very handsome

02:29 today I say thank you could you pass me

02:32 Brandon shoes no

02:36 sunit said the bridesmaids will

02:38 try to sweet talk don’t give the shoes to

02:40 anybody but Aaron she says that’s against

02:44 Indian tradition when I hear that the

02:48 global ambassador within me gets

02:50 nervous I don’t want to cause an

02:52 international incident over a pair of

02:54 shoes I can see the headlines idiot

02:57 ruins wedding and india-us relations I

03:03 almost hand over the shoes but remember

03:06 Sunit they will try deception don’t

03:08 give the shoes to anybody I say no again

03:11 then the ominous smiler

03:15 she moves closer she says and I quote we

03:20 can do this the easy way or we can do

03:23 this the hard way but you will give us

03:27 the shoes I am now scared for my life at

03:31 this wedding however I must protect the

03:35 shoes because when I have a mission I

03:37 take it very seriously so I curl over in

03:41 my seats I press the shoes against my

03:43 chest and this is how I watch the

03:45 wedding for the next 30 minutes the

03:50 ominous smiler tries to steal the shoes

03:52 but I hold firm then she disappears for

03:55 20 minutes before taking a seat to my

03:59 right

04:00 she says Aaron I don’t care about the

04:03 shoes anymore you win I say do I look

04:07 like a fool to you

04:11 but she doesn’t move

04:13 I think I won sunit runs over

04:16 he’s aesthetic he says Aaron I’m proud

04:18 of you I say thank you

04:19 you took this mission very seriously I

04:22 say that’s right now give the shoes to

04:25 me no Sunit says don’t give the

04:33 shoes to anybody the ominous smiler

04:37 disappeared to recruit backup and I

04:39 know a traitor when I see one

04:43 then the ominous smiler pounces she

04:46 starts pulling my arm sunit joins

04:48 her two versus one they pull I pull but

04:51 I hold firm the other bridesmaids run

04:54 over five versus one they pull I pull

04:57 but I hold firm the other groomsmen run

05:01 over I think yes the cavalry has arrived

05:03 but they joined the bridesmaids eight

05:08 versus one they pull I pull but I hold

05:11 firm because when I have a mission I

05:13 take it very seriously they said Aaron

05:16 just give us the shoes I said never keep in mind the

05:27 wedding is still going on

05:32 Devicka family is watching the

05:34 ceremony as if nothing else is happening

05:36 I start wondering is this normal

05:42 then the ominous smiler signals the

05:45 wedding photographer and this dude is

05:48 huge he puts down his camera then he

05:51 starts charging he jumps on top of me

05:54 nine versus one they pull I pull but I

05:58 lost the shoes

06:03 Brandon paid 10 times what those shoes

06:06 were worth but what makes this story

06:10 unbelievable is not the shoes nor the

06:14 events it is the context behind that

06:17 game that game is designed for the

06:21 families of the bride and groom to get

06:23 to know each other which means that

06:27 among white and Indian families a

06:30 different lonely black man was accepted

06:34 like family – we experienced so much

06:40 divisive ‘nowadays that acceptance

06:43 despite difference seems unbelievable

06:47 but there are people who still believe

06:50 in it do you

06:58 open your culture your mind your heart to

07:01 people who are different from you show

07:04 the world that acceptance

07:05 despite difference is not an

07:07 unbelievable story this is your mission

07:12 take it very seriously

07:18 contest chair

07:35 [Applause]

07:36 [Applause]

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