HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1998-07-08, Page 21Storm warning
Lucky break. Betty Bates of 244 Main_ St. in Lucan stands in front of about a third of an old
treQ that was knocked to the ground' during last week's ,severe thunderstorms that swept
through the area. The fallen tree barely missed the house • and luckily its branches fell
around a young spuce tree. it happened at 4:10 a.m. (Tuesday morning)," "Bates said with
certainty since that's when her clocks stopped. '7t took the hydro out. 1 don't know how it
missed the house." Power was restored to Bates abode at -about noon qn Tuesday..
1
Bailymote man overcomes illiteracy
Robert Grimminck has completed a book about his life
.By Katherine Harding
T -A (?eporter
BALLYMOTE - It took a per-
sonal tragedy on March 10. 1992 to-_
changtr" ,Roberi,..,GFimminck's life
Dreyer. - •
Until then Grimminck was hid-
ing.an embarrassing andpainful se-
cret — he had lived half his life as
a functional. illiterate. ' .
The Whalens Corner native,and
father of live boys- learned to hide then bang I was gone:" -
his secret well. Since that. "awakening" Grim
He relegated himself to factory ininck has gone onto achieve scho-
work and he even once quit •a job as lastic success. He reccivcd top
a quality. controller a Dashwood grades at the Centre for Lifelong
Industries Ltd. when hp sensed his Learning and was the valedictorian
`boss knew he couldn't read. ' for hit graduating class. He then
"After the incident at Dashwood . went on to Fanshawe College
-'Industries i did - where- he receive a '
some soul search- four year degree in
ing and decided
that 1 always
- would be a factory
worker," said
Grimminck. "i
never -wanted to' go
' *back into the cm-
harrassincnt of an'
office job again."
Then. on that
t -a teful day- in
1992, tragedy
`,struck and Grim-
minck Was se-
4'iously injured
while on the. job at
. Hunt Windows -in London..
• His future Looked grim.
Wilma de Rond. -
"She -started to show me things
and all of a `sudden things started
clicking," he said. "I think it was.
because it was explained clearly to
me all of a sudden) started to. leant
things:
"1 can't-deseribe it...it was like a
new awakening and she . had
cracked open my prison," he said.
"All it took was for. Wilma to pay
special attention to my problem and
"1 was -instrumental in changing
a 'privilege into a law that guar-
anteed that all adults bake the right
to. a high school diploma," he
beamed.
Grinuuinck is even more proud
of his new lound ithility to. write: -
He enjoys writing _poetry : and
short- stories and he recently. com-
pleted a book. aha ur his lite entitled
To Uream'A Different Dream --- A
Personal Journey • Through Con-
-
Uniting Education.
The book -which will include
some of his poetry will he pub-
lished by hisown publishing com-
pany, Folker Press. .
• "It's ironic really. The thing that
1 whs most scared of in the first hall
of my life was reading 'and 'math —,
and now I'm an author," he said.
"What I once feared' the' most. is
-now the: thing .I Iain . from the
most." • . - t , -
"1 think that if -my life holds any
lile lessons itis that you should for
• low your dreams while staking the
right choices." he said. "'You
should be aware of what' direction
your choices will take you." -
Grimminck plans to.pro note his,
book this fall during a free lecture
series he:will.givc on his life.,
"Before when 1'd give lectures
people would tome up to me after
and -say 'Where's your book?'.
Now 1 have one," he said.
Grimminck has also received an
offer from a production company to
make a --documentary about his ,lifc
story.
"What I once Industrial Design.
Upon graduation
feared the •-Gtimminck • also re -
Most is now celvid Fanshawc's
highest honor, The
President's Prime. .
He is now cin= -
ploycd as ,a product
- designer at Rovchn
Engineering in Mt.
Brydges. • -
Grimminck . has..
also become an ad-
vocate of adult cd-
ucation and a voice
- for the functional il-
literate. - .
• - He'is proud of a televised speech
Grimminck. was, diagnosed as he was asked to give to a Royal
t having four collapsed disks . and Commission on learning in 1993.
two central herniated disks against
thc-sciatic nerve. '
"1 was immobile for '. four .
. months," reflects Grimminck.'"All
I could do w,as blink my eyes." • '
Through,extgnsive massage ther-
-apy Grimminck managed to slowly-
' recover from his injurics but it was
' obvious that he would not be able
•
to return to manual labor.
"At that time I had io decide _
• - what i was going to do with my -
life,- h decided that 1'd g ha,k to
school with,the suppoit of fery z.t' ti-
-Jy and workers compensat,,,. r ht
said. "I now had to use my brain."
. It was that pivotal 1:i- .'ecision
that completely transformed ' his
life.
Growing up tl)c child of im-
migrant parents from Holland,
Grimminck and his twelve siblings
were all labelled "slow learners"
when they entered school. '
"We all went through the system
As slow learners," he said. "1 was
'kind of just pushed thro'ugh."
Fed up with' -'the system', he
eventually quit school after.only re-
ceiving a Grade 10 basic education.
On September 3, 1993 Grim-
minck finally returned to school .at
the Centre for Lifelong Learning in
London. He was ready to confront
the demons that had controlled his
life. -
He received Ito assessment that
classified him as a functional illiter-
ate and the diagnosis that he had an
inherited P300 Brainstem disorder.
The disorder will always require
him to require the use of aids like a
calculator and spellcheck.
"i had to go back to adult basic Robert Grimminck is getting ready to release his
training, which i call adult kin-
dergarten because you learn the ba- hook To Dream A Different Dream — A Personal
sits of english and math," he said. , Journey Through Continuing Education.
the thing I
gain from
the most.
Robert
Grimminck
Times -Advocate, July 8, 1998
Page 21
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e-mail;
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