麻豆约拍

They took a train to their musical icon鈥檚 village, searched his home address in a local library, and approached the house, feeling more and more like a pair of idiots. They walked up the garden path step by step like it was a stairway to heaven, thinking their angel of rock would appear at the gate. Palms sweating, lips trembling, they knocked at the door. A figure emerged, with big hair filling the frosted glass in the door. Was it, was it.. It was..

It was Robert Plant鈥檚 mum.

鈥業s Robert in?鈥� my brother asked, in his 20s at this time, as if the music legend was a schoolmate who鈥檇 play footie with him in the street. Meanwhile, my cousin, who was catatonic all this time, finally managed to get his words out: "We've not come to meet Robert Star the rock plant, but the person.鈥�

It鈥檚 at vital moments like these, life-defining moments, that you cave under the pressure, and get tongue tied when you least want to and you鈥檙e left feeling like a moron. But even the greatest of people get tongue tied, like one of my heroes, Prophet Moses who had a speech impediment - and he had to take on the mighty, ferocious Pharaoh. Moses is mentioned in the Quran more time than any other prophet, and it鈥檚 the little prayer by him that I recite every time I have to speak in public - which is one of my biggest fears. Before I go on a stage or on the radio, I repeat the words Moses said, which go 鈥淢y Lord! Open up for me my heart. And ease for me my task. And untie the knot of my tongue so that they may understand my speech.鈥�

I love that Moses wasn鈥檛 the best public speaker. I love the fact that if it weren鈥檛 for him striving to overcome his fear of speaking to power thousands of years ago, I would not have his prayer to help me through my own fears today. Luckily, I don鈥檛 have to face pharaohs, but I think rock legends and radio DJs can be scary enough.