gone gray

Spalding Gray is missing? This is less weird than worrisome. Spalding is one of the most interesting spoken word performers of our time. He appeared to overcome a tremendously colorful background. He performed at UCSC in 1990 or '91, and I was lucky enough to see him in one of the small theaters in the arts area. He told a story about how he lost his faith; his parents were Christian Scientists, and he initially defaulted to that belief system. One time, as a small child, he was accidently burned by a hot surface, like a radiator. Due to their faith, his parents did not take him for treatment, but instead wrapped the wound and prayed for removal of the "error." In time, the wound became badly infected, and (i think) his teacher took him to see the school nurse. When they unwrapped the wound, the nurse screamed. In that moment, Spalding was overwhelmed with the emotional reaction of a health professional. He realized his parents were going about it all wrong... (via mike)