Friday The 13th: Stuttering is Cool Day

A comic strip in 9 panels. This first panel contains drawings of people acting really scared. The narrator begins, “While fluenters in general worry about getting back luck on Friday the 13th…”

The narrator continues “Those of us who stutter, like Franky Banky, can spend the day, everyday, out of our comfort zones.” A cartoon fox named Franky Banky happily walks by a directional sign pointing towards success. Another sign points towards the opposite direction indicating “comfort zone”. There is also a footnote reading “everyday, actually”.

The narrator continues by saying “Enjoying the benefits of stuttering openly” while Franky Banky and his female friend walk by a window not knowing a black cat is dropping a flower pot over Franky Banky’s head! Franky Banky is saying to his friend, “I heard a funny Joe Joe Joe joke the other day day day day”.

The narrator continues by saying “Tell someone you stutter”. In this panel, Franky Banky is in the doctor’s office with amigo bump on his head. The doctor says, “Good heavens! What happened to your head?”. Franky Banky replies, “Miss miss miss miss miss misadventure. By the way, I speak with a stub stub stutter”.

The narrator continues by saying “Order exactly what you want”. Franky Banky is in a store canned Construction Hat Emporium. He says to the clerk, “I’d lie lie lie like a bl bl bl blue construction hat wi wi wi with racing stripes”.

The narrator continues by saying “avoid texting”. In this panel, Franky Banky is standing beside his car which is on fire! He is talking on the phone saying “I’m go go going to be a lit lit little late”.

The narrator continues by saying “Get a flaunter to voluntary stutter”. In this panel, Franky Banky is wearing a construction hat with racing stripes. He is in a police station with the black cat from the second panel. The cat is confessing to a police officer saying “I am turn turning my my myself in, off off officer. It was I who dropped the fl fl flower pot and set fie fie fire to his car. I can’t help myself. I cr cr crave mischief!"

“No victory too small!”, says the narrator. In this panel, Franky Banky, still wearing his construction hat, is in a pizza parlour ordering a pizza. He says to the female clerk, I’d like like like a pep pep pep pepperoni pee pee pizza with pep pep peppers, poe poe poe poe potatoes, pa pa pa pasta, peh peh peh pesto and purr purr persimmon pa patay pl please.”

Franky Banky and the black cat are happily eating pizza together. The narrator continues by saying “Make this and everyday your lucky day and build the freedom to speak with no fear!”. A inscription reads, Share your experiences with the hashtag stuttering is cool day.”

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Audio description

Courtesy of The Franky Banky Podcast.

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Author’s commentary

I came up with the idea of using Friday The 13th as a way to create a fun(?) activity in which the global stuttering community can participate and share the steps everyone took out of their comfort zones and inspire others to do the same. Kind of like a global fitness challenge.

Stuttering is Cool Day is dedicated to building up one’s desensitization towards the stigma of stuttering – because stuttering isn’t the problem. The problem is society’s lack of understanding what stuttering is and is not. The stigma of stuttering is the result of this. And this results in developing a fear of being caught stuttering. And a boat load of other negative emotions that have tremendous power over preventing us from what we really want to say or do.

Desensitizing yourself from the stigma is a process you need to keep in practice much like keeping fit is an ongoing practice. Thus, everyday offers the opportunity to be Stuttering is Cool Day.

It isn’t easy at times but well worth it. The result is you are ultimately seen as a cool person who doesn’t let something stigmatized stop you.

Hence, Stuttering Is Cool Day.

A day to show that stuttering is a pretty cool feature after all. Even if the stigma makes things difficult. However, keep in mind that stuttering is just one thing about you. You have so many other characteristics and qualities that make you a really cool person. And the more you give stuttering openly a try, the more you realize people don’t care that we stutter. It’s a great feeling. I hope you can experience this, too.

Stuttering is Cool Day is for everyone. Even if you don’t like your stuttering or feel stuttering can never be cool. You can use Stuttering is Cool Day to practice speaking to people or a group of people and maintaining eye contact with and without using speech tools. The goal of Stuttering is Cool Day is to reduce your fears of speaking and stuttering caused by stigma.

I first came up with the idea of using Friday The 13th shortly after publishing my book, Stuttering is Cool: A Guide to Stuttering in a Fast-Talking World. Reception has been great over the years and I hope the same happens with this funny comic.

An illustration of the author standing next to a pile of sketchbooks. Franky Banky is sitting on top reading one of the books. Ti-Ger is sneaking around the bottom.

You can be as creative as you want to be with Stuttering is Cool Day personalized to your needs. An infographic I created for New Year’s Day can also give some ideas to get you started.

Don’t forget to share your experiences using the #StutteringIsCoolDay hashtag!

January 11, 2023