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Corvallis Reflections now available
Here's the thing about Corvallis Reflections: you can never tell quite where you're going until you get there. Pat Wray's simple, reflective essays about the people, places and activities in his home town are informative and fun in their own right, but often open into deeper and more universal truths. Commiseration with a high school baseball player who has trouble staying in the box against a curve ball illuminates a profound exploration of human courage. The production of a popular television show nearby begins an emotional look at the human cost of its popularity. A young girl's act of covering her ears to block a message she does not like is writ large on the national canvas where politics and religion have created divisiveness and anger not seen in this country for many decades. Even a tongue-in-cheek discussion of fruitcake investigates the human tendency to follow the crowd.
You never know what you'll get when you delve into Corvallis Reflections, but one thing is for certain: you'll get far more than you expected.
"What a delight to have Pat Wray's columns corralled into a single volume. You needn't have lived in Corvallis to appreciate what this quick-witted observer of human nature has to say. His essays are relevant and timeless; his devotion to family, community, and country an inspiration.
Pat's success as a writer stems from his ability to weave a simple vignette into the larger fabric of life. That and the wry humor employed as the fulcrum of his craft. Trust me, you'll have trouble putting this book down."
Jan Roberts-Dominguez,
Columnist and artist
"I have enjoyed reading Pat Wray's newspaper columns for years. In this collection of his columns, Pat brings life's everyday moments into full view in highly readable prose. His love of Corvallis and its citizens is evident throughout. Readers will find smiles and warm memories in these stories, as well as a crystal clear look at the world through the eyes of a man whose perspective is not quite like the rest of us."
Julie Manning,
Former Corvallis Mayor, 2011-2014
"For several years, Pat Wray chronicled life in Oregon's mid-Willamette Valley in a twice-monthly column in the Corvallis Gazette-Times with wry humor, homespun wisdom and unabashed fondness for his adopted hometown. Pat celebrated what was best in our community and poked gentle fun at our foibles. Reading these columns again will make you see Corvallis with fresh eyes."
Bennett Hall,
Special Projects Editor
Corvallis Gazette-Times
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