:: In Gregs Own Words ::
I was 5 and in kindergarten at a school with sighted kids,
and the teacher showed the class a bowl of gold fish. All the kids
seemed to be pretty interested, so as soon as we had a little free
time, I sorta slipped to the back of the room, and put my hand in
the bowl feeling round for them "fisheees". Of course, teacher
spotted me, and wanting to make her point, grabbed my hand
and gave it a couple slaps saying, "No no no, we don't put our
hand in the fish bowl, you might hurt them." On the next little
free break I was looking for the opportunity to check out the
little fish again, and spotting me, teacher said, "Mr. Brayton,
I hope you're not planning to put that hand back in the fish bowl."
"Oh no," I said, "I'm just a singin' a song." That was the first time
I remember feeling much comfort from music. It was also
the first time I realized, that there were indeed things I shouldn't
do, but not that there were things I couldn't do. I felt a little left
out, but challenged. I always tried to get over, on the one hand, I
didn't wanta do any harm, but of course there was a little boy
part of me, a human part, that was just gunna have my own way
no matter what, whenever possible.
My mom and dad never met a blind person before they had
me, so they never treated me any differently than they would
treat a kid who could see. I'm the better for that I'm sure. I
learned to ride a 2-wheel bike before some of my friends who
could see. I still ride around a track we had built. My daddy
gave me my first half a beer when I was 4 years old, (my mom
says it was only a few sips) just so I could feel like a big boy. I
thought it tasted pretty bad, but I said how much I liked it, of
course. I would never even presume to blame anyone for my
alcoholism, but I like saying I had my first beer when I was 4,
it's an ego thing I think! Ha ha!
After 6 years at the Michigan school for the blind, where I
learned many things that would benefit me throughout my life, I
was allowed to come back home to attend public school. Like a
dream come true it was! I got the opportunity to play football,
and wrestle, and be a popular kid in a totally new social setting.
I found out how hard you had to work to play sports. At the
school for the blind I had broken my arm, in an attempt to
impress my little blind friends by going down the slide standing
up. The fact that they couldn't see me, was beside the point, I
had to do it as a matter of honor on a dare. The next year, taking
guitar lessons, I found I couldn't play with my hand underneath
the neck, so I'd sneak away and transpose what the teacher
taught me, playing over the top of the neck. Forty years later,
that's the way I continue to play. I get away with what I can. It
actually works quite well for me, because the music is more in
my heart than in my fingers.
I had a real passion for music since I was 6 years old and
heard Del Shannon on the radio doing Little Run Away, I wanted
to be that guy on the radio. Certainly the Beetles were big for
me, and later, Hendrix, but on the other end of the spectrum,
Paul Simon, Dylan, Joni Mitchell, folks like that, really did it for
me. I realized early on, that music was what I wanted to do,
probably even had to do, hey it was what I was best at.
I went to college for a year, majored in composition, at the
Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and realized right away that
wasn't the kind of music I wanted to do. I formed a rock band,
called, Blindman's Bluff, and for 8 and a half years we were
together on the bar circuit, just about good enough to break
through, but not quite. I think the way I drank had a lot to do
with us not actually getting there, not making right choices,
playing badly at precisely the wrong time etc.
My wife Sally, stuck with me through all that, and we
raised 2 boys together. Early on I got very active in our church,
and became an evening drinker. I'd get Sal and the boys off to
bed, then get my large buzz. I spent a good number of Sundays
playing music at our church with a hang over. "Hey, Jesus drank
wine right, I mean maybe he didn't drink as much as me, but
after all, he was Jesus!" I had lots of excuses and justifications,
and I was functioning, making a living running the recording
studio in our home. How many times did my wife Sally say,
"You have a gift and you don't even care, you'd rather be
drunk"? I finally heard her 6 years ago, and went to Alcoholics
Anonymous, and our lives have changed for the better!
The things we've learned together, the things God has shown
us…
it's a books worth, and then some.
I was diagnosed with cancer after getting sober, and the
Graditude CD is my response to God leading me through those
difficult times. How true it is, that God uses the tough things in
life, to show us how blessed we are with His love, grace, and
mercy! God has continued working on me. After 2 years, I’ve
just finished a new CD, Listening. God has continued to let me
grow as a Christian and the journey goes on.
God has done miracles in our lives. He helped me find
A.A., where I could get help, and actually, be of service to
others, in a natural and honest way. He healed me, after one
group of doctors said I had less than five years to live. The
cancer is gone, so far so good. But, whatever God's plan is...
well, Sally and I, we just want to be part of it. Today, I
don't
need to know how it all turns out, I just sincerely believe that
God is good, and I am blessed!