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| Gary Gray |
(photo credit – Tom Rath)
Gary Gray of Montague was guest speaker at this month’s meeting of the Southern Kings Arts Council. His presentation included a reading from Prince Edward Island Tales, published by the Montague Library Writers Guild,.
Tom.rath@yahoo.ca 583-2888
Writing is more than just an art form, a way to exercise one’s creativity, guest speaker Gary Gray of Montague explained at this month’s meeting of the Southern Kings Arts Council, “For me, as a stroke survivor, it as both a form of escape, and a way to help me discover and develop what I call my new normal’.
“The stories of my childhood that you read in Prince Edward Island Tales are not just my latest writings. They are my first writings, too. I joined the Montague Library Writers Group because I found writing was good therapy for me.”
Always an active participant in community affairs, Gary suffered a major stroke eight years ago while stopping for coffee at the local Tim Horton’s. After a blurred three weeks of CAT scans and semi-consciousness, he awoke to the realization that his entire world had changed. He faced major challenges in learning once again how to walk, talk and dress under conditions of fatigue, depression and anxiety. Even sitting up in order to eat took effort. A left-handed man with a paralyzed left side has much to learn.
“It’s more than just regaining physical strength”, Gary told his audience. “After all, much of what we do doesn’t happen in the hands, but in the brain itself. I had to battle memory loss and fuzzy thinking, and somehow teach my brain how to survive and succeed under these new conditions”.
Part of his progress stemmed from involvement in a new writing group formed at the Montague Library. “By putting words down on paper, I helped clear my thoughts and my thinking patterns. That, plus my involvement with the Heart and Stroke Foundation, gave me new accomplishments – skills, strengths and reassurance that while I’m not necessarily the old Gary Gray, I am the new Gary Gray. I am surviving and succeeding in my new normal”.
The Southern Kings Arts Council exists to support the arts community, and to enhance public awareness and appreciation of the arts inj this region of Prince Edward island. Guest speaker meetings are held in the Boardroom of Active Communities, Main Street, Montague, at 7:30 pm on the third Tuesday of most months, and are open to the public. Admission is free. For more information on our meetings, or on how to apply for financial support for artistic projects, please contact SKAC President Fran Feher at franflakes@yahoo.
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