I forgot a talk once... it was a 'Number One' (big splash)... I realised about ten minutes in advance, and did my sheer terror wing it thing, and did fine. Ten minutes is plenty for preparing a talk.
I wish I could create the mind-state of the sheer terror wing it thing. I have almost perfect recall of a passage of Shakespeare that I learnt on the bus to school after forgetting I had it as homework, and that was 23 years ago. If I could generate those conditions I'd only have to read anything once to remember it.
I remember I once deliberately did the wrong item, as the assigned one was so dull I decided to do the one on the facing page; I was eleven I think.
The whole school thing makes me think though; what the hell were we thinking? Sexual inequality pushed into out faces every Friday. It bothered me at the time, but not enough, to my regrets. But the sad charade the sisters have to go through... god, I really do think if I'd been born a girl (yeah, make comments about my photo, like I care) I'd have got out sooner.
As for the 28 year-old virgin, hell, you're right, each congregation has at least one. But the scarey ones are the really old virgins.
My Aunt is a member of the annointed, in her seventies, a virgin, and mad as a hatter. Ladies, if you still are in possesion of your 'warm little diamond', give it up. I ain't taking no 'Cherry Falls' either. I think women go slightly mad if they don't have sex.
I'm not saying men are immune; maybe we're more used to the behaviour of the sad, non-sexually active male geek. It is harder (fnar fnar) for men to have sex, so there's more of them than the female equivalent. When it's in a woman, it's far more unattractive.
This is not just a macho thing to say; me and my girlfriend occasionally encounter someone and after look at each other and just say "well, we know she NEEDS some".
People living in glass paradigms shouldn't throw stones...