Only a Game

I would like to tell you about a hometown celebrity.  Well, maybe she hasn’t reached star status just yet, but I think she is well on her way.  I would like to share with you her 15 minutes of fame.  Please help me stretch them out as much as possible.  Bear with me while I tell you the story.  After all, I’m not the professional writer in the family, Sherry is!

Let me start off by telling you a little about the author and why I’m writing this article.  Hello, my name is Clistie Woods.  I’m 26 years old and I graduated from Osceola High School in 1994.  I am married to Rik Woods, an Osceola alumnus of 1990.  I live in Bellevue Nebraska where I am employed as a grain inspector.  I am Sherry Gibson’s youngest daughter.  We’ll get to the rest of the family soon, I promise.  I am also now her Promotional Manager and last but not least, her biggest fan.  When I heard of her good news, I was overwhelmed with joy, I thought nobody in the world deserves this more than my mother. When she told me she wanted an article written for the local newspapers, I thought that was an excellent idea but then she told me she wanted me to write it, I panicked.  I thought to myself; I don’t have my mother’s talent, I’m not a writer!  But when I started thinking about my mother, I didn’t have to search for long, I realized that she is a part of me.  She flows deep in my heart, mind and soul like those Ozark lakes.  I see her every day in my eyes and smile when I look at myself in the mirror.  Then the words started pouring out.  With the greatest love and honor, this is for you mom…..

Sherry Gibson’s grandparents, Walter and Clistie Jane Gill, moved to Osceola in 1960.  Sherry attended Weaubleau Elementary for part of her primary education.  She graduated junior high in Hermitage.  Her mother and father, Leroy and Wanda Langley, moved to Osceola in 1965.   Sherry graduated from Osceola High School in 1967.

Sherry (maiden name Zumwalt) met her future husband Bill Gibson in high school.  Bill is the son of Walter and Gertie Gibson of Weaubleau Mo.  They were married in 1968 at the Gibson’s farm.  Bill and Sherry had three children:  Forrest, Billie and Clistie.  All of her children attended Osceola schools.  Billie graduated from Weaubleau High School in 1992.  Billie lives in Sedalia with her husband and 2 children.  Forrest resides in Texas with his son and his daughter lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her mother.

Bill and Sherry lead a full and varied life in support of their family.  In the early 70’s Bill and Sherry lived in Prineville, OR as Bill worked in a commercial logging operation. They have both worked for school systems in different capacities; Bill as a mechanic and bus driver for the Osceola school system in the mid 70’s, and sherry in the early 80’s in the Clearwater, Florida school system.  They also ran a Fish market in the early 80’s with Sherry running the store while Bill did the fishing from their commercial fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico.  

In the Mid 80’s Bill went to work for an Industrial construction company. He quickly climbed the corporate ladder making a good name for himself in the industry as the man who could get the job done right.  Bill is now one of that company’s top Superintendents.  They have traveled with their family all over the country building grain elevators, extraction plants, refineries and a variety of other projects.  These travels added culture, verve and diversity to their lives.  While on the road, Osceola was always been home to them, always anxious for their opportunities to return.  They always came home in between projects.  Sherry and her husband now own the farm where they committed their love and their life to each other almost 35 years ago.  They are looking forward to spending their retirement on that farm in their beloved St. Clair County.

Sherry has spent a considerable amount of her life fighting an unknown illness.  After years of being sick and going to doctors, in 1999 she was finally diagnosed with Lupus.  Sherry leads an online support group called Living With Lupus.  She helps anyone that reaches out to her for help.  She answers hundred’s of E-mails and messages daily.  Sherry is devoted to helping people understand Lupus and learn to live with the pain caused by it.

I know by now you are wondering what I was talking about in the beginning of the article about her being a star.  As if the things I’ve told you aren’t enough to be a leading light for all of us, Sherry’s first novel is being published.  “Only a Game” is being published by Publish America.  It will be available early in 2003.  “Only a Game” is a novel in the suspense/thriller genre.  The first chapter draws you in and you won’t be able to put it down until you finish the last page.  I thought whom better to help explain the novel then Sherry herself.  I conducted the following interview by phone, e-mail, and instant messaging during the month of July 2002.

Clistie:  What inspired you to write “Only a Game”?

Sherry:  I have family members who are bi-polar.  I’ve done a lot of research into mental illness of various types and while researching this problem I kept asking myself, “What if this happened, or that, and in asking myself the question, I came up with the idea of a novel, by carrying out the worst case scenarios I could think of.

Clistie:  Should mental illness be a taboo subject to talk about?

Sherry:  No it should never be and I think the attitude that many families have about any type of mental illness causes a lot of people not to seek the help they need.  They fear so much because the subject has been taboo for so many years.  I see this happening in my novel.

Clistie:  What is the goal of your book?  Is there something you want your readers to take away from your novel?

Sherry:  My goal is to entertain my readers.  I hope to have written the book so that the readers can become involved with the story and come to some of their own conclusions about what is happening.  Some will see it as mental illness, and some will see it as good versus evil.  Hopefully, each person will come to his or her own conclusions.  I want people to realize there may be a very thin line between mental illness and what may appear to be evil.

Clistie:  What kind of a reaction did your family have towards your novel?

Sherry:  I am so proud of my family!  Each member of my family has been very supportive of my efforts in writing this novel and they are all very proud of the novel.

Clistie:  Who inspired you to become a writer?

Sherry:  I have always enjoyed writing, but when I was in middle school, my English teacher, Mr. Boatwright, saw my talent and did his best to encourage it.  In high school, while attending school in Osceola, my English teacher, Mrs. Bogart was the biggest influence in my writing career.

Clistie:  Was getting this novel published your dream?

Sherry:  Yes it was and is!

Clistie:  Is it ever too late to go after that big dream?

Sherry:  It’s never too late and that is something I want to stress.  Sometimes it takes maturity to make a dream become a reality.  We don’t always have that when we are younger. 

Clistie:  You have been fighting a debilitating illness for years and finally in the late 90’s you found out that you had Lupus.  What is Lupus?

Sherry:  Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which simply means that the body builds antibodies against it’s own DNA and tries to destroy itself.

Clistie:  How has living with Lupus changed your outlook on life?

Sherry:  Living with Lupus has made me much more aware of taking control of my life and accomplishing things I used to only dream of.  I have a new appreciation for life and have learned to value each day and to appreciate any day that I wake up and feel better.

Clistie:  What would you suggest to someone who thinks they have Lupus, but is having a difficult time getting it diagnosed?

Sherry:  Very difficult question and one that I am working hard to help Lupus survivors to learn in my online Lupus support group.  A person must learn how to talk to a doctor, and must learn to keep a written journal of their own health so that they can help their doctor to understand what is going on with them.  Also, a person has to be willing to continue in a search for a diagnosis because Lupus can be very difficult to uncover.

Clistie:  Is there going to be a second book?

Sherry:  Absolutely!  I am working on several ideas right now.  A good writer always has one more story to tell.

Clistie:  Is there going to be a beautiful redhead* in it? 

Clistie:  Don’t answer that.  I’m just joking.

Sherry might not be a celebrity yet, but her novel “Only a Game” is a step in that direction.  She has not let her age or her severe illness get in her way of accomplishing her dream.  I think that makes her a bright shinning star that we all should be happy to follow.  For updates on exactly when “Only a Game” will be released, please visit her website at Click here.

(* Clistie Woods is that fiery redhead everyone always fears)