I like to be inspired. A shot of inspiration benefits all of us. Sometimes we get it from a good sermon, a visit with someone, a book we read. It leaves us with something to think about and maybe makes us view a situation in a new way. I was recently inspired by a book given to me by my friend Annette: “Paperboy,” by Vince Vawter. It’s about an 11-year-old boy who stutters.

Maybe I was drawn to the story because our special needs son Grant stutters as he struggles to express what is on his mind. Maybe I was drawn to the book because I was so impressed that country western star Mel Tillis could sing without a glitch but couldn’t speak a sentence without stuttering. I can’t imagine the frustration it has to be to have words in your head and not be able to get them out — and how can one sing but not talk correctly?

Vince Vawter doesn’t reveal to the reader that the story he has written is about himself until the author’s note at the end. No wonder I could put myself into this young boy’s life as I read. The story was real, his words, his experiences, his emotions. Vince lives in Tennessee and, thanks to the internet, I was able to contact him and arrange for a telephone visit.

Vince was about 5 years old when he picked up the telephone to answer it and couldn’t get out the “Hello” he wanted to say. He was confused. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he do what others did?

His parents took him to the doctor who simply said he’d grow out of it. The stutter didn’t improve. He was laughed at in school. His parents were understanding, and if there were an activity he didn’t feel comfortable attending, they didn’t push him to go.

They took him for speech therapy. One therapist taught him a trick that helped him get out his words. She taught him to “sneak up” on the word by making a hissing sound. A good example of how he used that trick is written in the book. One day when he wanted to try something new and his mother offered to help, he replied, “s-s-s-s- Need to s-s-s-s- do it on s-s-s-s- my own.” Letting out the gentle air of the “s” sound helped him not to get stuck on a word.

Relating to how Mel Tillis could sing, Vince told me that one therapist asked him to sing a song, and he could do it perfectly, but then when she asked him to read the same words, he stuttered. Recently, I asked our son Grant to sing “Happy Birthday,” and he too could do it perfectly. I looked that up and an article said that the right side of the brain functions when you do something artistic such as singing, while the left side of the brain is involved in fluent speech.

Vince told how stuttering can rule your life, and he decided when he became a dad that he had to put it behind him. He decided, “I have to get over this, move on, stop worrying about stuttering. A stutterer is just who I am.” H

e was tired of hiding or trying to avoid certain life activities. He made himself stop worrying about it, while at the same time working on controlling it. He’s moved on and today, he shares his story with others.

Vince speaks at medical conventions, to speech pathology groups, and college classes. He participates with the Stuttering Foundation of America, where people who stutter and their families can get services and support. He spreads the facts that, “There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re not less intelligent because of stuttering. There is no cure, but it can be overcome.”

During our conversation, I detected only a few times when he hesitated to get his words. One would not realize he had a problem if unaware of it.

For many years, singer Mel Tillis wouldn’t talk during a performance, and then later he came out from hiding his disability and made his speaking problem a part of his show, and he joined with his audience in laughing about it. His followers admired him even more and he helped people see that a problem is something to face and not be ashamed of.

Vince said stuttering often has a genetic link. It can also start after a disease or something traumatic. Mel’s started after he had malaria in his early years. Another man began stuttering after being in a World War II battle. Several well-known, successful people had childhood struggles with it — Marilyn Monroe, Tiger Woods, Elvis Presley, Thomas Jefferson. President Biden’s stuttering caused him to be bullied when young.

Vince became a newspaper reporter, an editor, and then a publisher, a success story. He moved on and has shared his story to help others move on.

One important message that comes from all these people is don’t feel sorry for yourself. Everyone has some difficulties to face in life. Some difficulties show, especially physical ones, but other difficulties are ones we hold inside that don’t show.

Don’t let the difficulties rule your life. Move on.

Carole Gariepy lives in Phillipston.

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