https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/lovenotes daily 0.75 2026-09-25 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/lovenotes/dustys-stutter-to-emcee monthly 0.5 2026-09-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/8430bb58-c1e2-44c8-82c2-9e20db81c320/Dusty+as+a+Child Love Notes - Dusty’s Note: The Mic that Fixed My Stutter I was actually incredibly shy as a kid. I was bullied a lot… and I mean a lot! There were many occasions where a bully would follow me home as I walked home from school. Sometimes, the bully would kick my foot out from under me, trying to trip me. Other times, if I was carrying something home, they would knock it out of my hands onto the ground. And almost every time, they would heckle me and shout hurtful words as I made my way home. I remember crying on this walk… so many times. Being bullied did not help me with my shy personality. It made it worse! I was nervous around other people and afraid to engage in the simplest of conversations. I had a hard time raising my hand, even to ask the teacher a question that I may have had. To make my situation and upbringing even worse, I suffered from a speech impediment. I had a stuttering problem that I could not escape. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/c03af67b-b936-4657-99b1-b7bea6b601b3/IMG_7518.jpg Love Notes - Dusty’s Note: The Mic that Fixed My Stutter - Being bullied did not help my shy personality. It made it worse! I was nervous around other people and afraid to engage in the simplest of conversations. I had a hard time raising my hand, even to ask the teacher a question that I may have had. To make my situation and upbringing even worse, I suffered from a speech impediment. I had a stuttering problem that I could not escape. I stuttered every single time I tried to talk. I was so scared to talk… and embarrassed when I did. This was my entire childhood. I was always the shy one. I was afraid to talk. I was very, very good at school. Teachers often favored me. And the school bullies always seem to find me. This was my experience from elementary school, all the way through high school. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/5140c8a3-d603-460e-aa64-73a9221cf5e3/IMG_7521.jpg Love Notes - Dusty’s Note: The Mic that Fixed My Stutter - Russ trained me how to deal with my speech impediment by using the microphone. I still cannot believe it to this day! Out of all of the tools that someone could use to help me with my speech impediment, a live microphone would have been the very last thing that I would’ve chosen. And yet it is exactly what did the trick. Russ provided the script for every single announcement I ever had to make. I spent 1 to 2 hours a day, 3 to 5 days a week, for about two months… Coming in for DJ training. Most of my time was spent making announcements on a live microphone… With no audience! I actually did my DJ training in his garage! Russ gave me a tool. Every time I felt a microphone in my hand, I would slow my voice. I would speak very slowly. This gave me the time I needed to form the words. I absolutely stuttered in the beginning, even with this technique. But as time went on, my stuttering became less and less frequent. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/0877c0da-931e-4ac1-8f6e-b521dd7f1013/Screenshot+2026-09-24+at+8.52.05+AM.jpg Love Notes - Dusty’s Note: The Mic that Fixed My Stutter - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/events-1-1 daily 0.75 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/events-1-1/casabingo1042026 monthly 0.5 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/events-1-1/dcfbingo92726 monthly 0.5 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/events-1-1/diamondsanddust2026 monthly 0.5 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/donate daily 0.75 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/home daily 1.0 2026-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/5a059ed3-7214-42cd-b49f-b10112d06480/Untitled+design-75.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6ab480b1c498733452b5d66c/27a1768c-072c-40cc-acd8-cac6766863c7/IMG_5581_3.jpg https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/contact daily 0.75 2026-09-24 https://www.mrsandmrslove.com/about daily 0.75 2026-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b503d11269629b387b9cc/d99e3c37-680d-4236-9ffd-4a9024386c61/image-asset.jpeg