On the Strand edition by Kevin Gray Politics Social Sciences eBooks
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On the Strand Kevin L.Gray World Audience 303 Park Avenue South, Suit 1440, New York, NY 10010-3657 978193544405. $20 "What we have here is an autobiography about growing up in Virginia, getting married, moving to Kansas that reads like a classic American novel. Gray really gets inside feelings and brings the reader adroitly into the heart of his own life. As classic as Catcher in the Rye and the basis of what could be great film." ---Dr. Hugh Fox Was it fate or responsibility that brought me to the plains? Or an escape? And why Kansas? Certainly a girl was involved. Three for sure! The reason for heading west from my home in Virginia and making a new one in Kansas is long and complicated. Maybe this is why I always looked at myself as the silent observer, as well as the kid who continually questioned his actions. When I finished my original manuscript, a memoir called On the Strand for Antioch University, I asked an old friend, who happens to be a character in this story, how she remembered me from age 11, when we first met, to 21 the last time we talked in a favorite Richmond bar, until I tracked her down via the internet in 2001, and she wrote, "Kind, shy, quiet, and very loyal. You had a dry sense of humor and were 'on the wild side' and always ready for something different--always questioning things and authority REBELLIOUS!!" She ended her memory with a telling statement "You were hard on yourself and did not believe in Kevin." She pegged me alright! I began publishing my memories with Waking Up in the Studebaker (2009), which covers my childhood in Richmond, Virginia's suburbs, through entering high school. On the Strand (2010) carries my story forward through high school and leaving Virginia to give college a try in Kansas. What an East Coast attitude I took with me "I'm here to get the bullshit classes out of the way and return to a good college in Virginia." Life happened. And what a ride, including the girls, endless trips to Virginia Beach, keeping track of and protesting the war (Vietnam), defeating the high school dress code, the Atlantic City Pop (Pot) Festival, bars and clubs, the Fillmore East, the Valencia Hotel in Greenwich Village, knowing a long-haired Bruce Springsteen - prior to beginning the E Street Band, the 1970 draft lottery, the 1971 march in Chicago to stop the war, cross country hitch hiking and trips in my Fastback VW, and constantly wondering how I could make something of myself, when I had barely graduated from high school. Would college be any different? Would I be able to get past the bullshit given students by teachers and from both private and public school curriculum expectations back in the grades? Would I stop feeling like the dumbass? Who knows, but I knew travel would be required to place me in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1971, and that sounded damn good to me, the wayward kid with no set direction. Little did I know I had chosen Playboy magazines' latest first place choice for the national Small College Party School, dominated by dime pitchers, bucket night, Coors (not sold east of the Mississippi), and Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". This is my story, the one so many of my high school and community college English students asked about for so many years, when their curiosity spoke, and they asked, "Why Kansas Gray?" As if I had been a nut for leaving Virginia, they would ask, "But don't they have the ocean and the mountains?" And, so, I had to answer with whatever sounded good but for the most part still ended up skirting the truth. Against the odds, I became an English teacher, journalist and columnist. Not bad for a shy, asthmatic kid, who hated school and especially English classes for so many years. Not bad at all. I invite you to read On the Strand due to publish in January, 2010.
On the Strand edition by Kevin Gray Politics Social Sciences eBooks
The Calming of A Generation"On The Strand" By Kevin Gray
Could "On The Strand:" be a late 1960's early 1970's Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn adventure? In many ways there are similarities. This renegade group, while living on the absolute edge, sought excitement at every corner. Whether they were floating down the James River on a tire inner tube with a six pack tied to them or jumping over Boshas Dam and going underneath the falls it was never enough.
These renegades lived life in overdrive every minute because deep down inside they knew that most likely they would end up in a rice paddy somewhere in the Mekong Delta. The draft never left their minds. The Viet Nam War was an everyday reality for this group just as the Afghanistan War is for our young people today. The only difference is they had no choice. When they received that notice they were gone. Even though they opposed the war, no one in that group defected to Canada. They accepted the realty that most likely Viet Nam may come to be.
Kevin's Mother & Father bring a universal theme to "On The Strand" that will carry to many generations to come. They remained passive and supportive throughout this time of turmoil. There is no doubt that they had confidence in their son and that he would come through this time. The things they said and did never hurt him. No negative comments, no "you can't do's", and never a " You won't be successful"...only the belief that ultimately he would be successful.
While talking with my wife about the book she looked at me and asked, "Do you think we were good parents?". "On The Strand" brought that kind of emotion from her and me. Take note all parents past, present, and future: we can learn from what Mr. & Mrs. Gray did and how they handled these tumultuous times for their son. It is universal and should carry through for all parents.
The last thing I would like to mention comes as a more personal note. I was part of that renegade group. Like Kevin, I had run away from home in the late 60's. We doubled dated at The Patterson Drive In, we drank way to much beer, and we scooted off to WestPoint in the middle of the night after driving our dates home to see the infamous light. We carried our draft cards in our wallet which was required by law. We lived on the edge and partied way too much because we did not know what was next in our lives.
As I finished the last page of "On The Strand", I sat the book on a shelf next to
my desk. It is hard to explain but a total calm came over me. It was almost surreal.
I closed my eyes for a second and looked back up at the book and thought: this is a book that I will read again from time to time. It is universal.
As I write this summary or review, 3 days after finishing "On The Strand", I feel tears, I feel laughter, and most importantly I still feel that calm.
Thank you my friend Kevin Gray. I am so happy I was part of this renegade group.
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On the Strand edition by Kevin Gray Politics Social Sciences eBooks Reviews
I like Kevin Gray's approach to personal biography. Every person's story can mirror others' experience. While I did not know him at the time, I was at Douglas Southall Freeman High School a year behind him. I was fascinated to read of events that he experienced, which I knew about as well but from another perspective, ex. the class president shaving his head when he was hassled for growing his hair long. I knew and was friends with a number of people in his accounts and it was a new and odd experience to encounter old friends in such a way. He articulates the transition of cultural experiences as an upper middle class southern public school finally began to accept the changes of the '60s. I also thought he did an admirable job of finding the voice of a kid on the cusp of adulthood.
The Calming of A Generation
"On The Strand" By Kevin Gray
Could "On The Strand" be a late 1960's early 1970's Tom Sawyer / Huck Finn adventure? In many ways there are similarities. This renegade group, while living on the absolute edge, sought excitement at every corner. Whether they were floating down the James River on a tire inner tube with a six pack tied to them or jumping over Boshas Dam and going underneath the falls it was never enough.
These renegades lived life in overdrive every minute because deep down inside they knew that most likely they would end up in a rice paddy somewhere in the Mekong Delta. The draft never left their minds. The Viet Nam War was an everyday reality for this group just as the Afghanistan War is for our young people today. The only difference is they had no choice. When they received that notice they were gone. Even though they opposed the war, no one in that group defected to Canada. They accepted the realty that most likely Viet Nam may come to be.
Kevin's Mother & Father bring a universal theme to "On The Strand" that will carry to many generations to come. They remained passive and supportive throughout this time of turmoil. There is no doubt that they had confidence in their son and that he would come through this time. The things they said and did never hurt him. No negative comments, no "you can't do's", and never a " You won't be successful"...only the belief that ultimately he would be successful.
While talking with my wife about the book she looked at me and asked, "Do you think we were good parents?". "On The Strand" brought that kind of emotion from her and me. Take note all parents past, present, and future we can learn from what Mr. & Mrs. Gray did and how they handled these tumultuous times for their son. It is universal and should carry through for all parents.
The last thing I would like to mention comes as a more personal note. I was part of that renegade group. Like Kevin, I had run away from home in the late 60's. We doubled dated at The Patterson Drive In, we drank way to much beer, and we scooted off to WestPoint in the middle of the night after driving our dates home to see the infamous light. We carried our draft cards in our wallet which was required by law. We lived on the edge and partied way too much because we did not know what was next in our lives.
As I finished the last page of "On The Strand", I sat the book on a shelf next to
my desk. It is hard to explain but a total calm came over me. It was almost surreal.
I closed my eyes for a second and looked back up at the book and thought this is a book that I will read again from time to time. It is universal.
As I write this summary or review, 3 days after finishing "On The Strand", I feel tears, I feel laughter, and most importantly I still feel that calm.
Thank you my friend Kevin Gray. I am so happy I was part of this renegade group.
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