Faces in the Crowd: Gary Matthews

The Mahomet Daily would like to add some fun to your newsfeed! We will be asking residents questions, and provide their answers as they turn them in. If you know of someone who would like to participate, email dani@mahometnews.com.

Today we feature Gary Matthews. Gary and his wife, Trudy, founded the Mahomet Area Youth Club. Gary is a visionary and a pillar in the Mahomet community, but here are a few things that you may not know about him!

What are your top 3 favorite movies?
I’m afraid my taste in movies reflects my age. Lately, Trudy & I have been checking out oldies from the library or streaming them from Hulu. The top 3 would be My Fair Lady starring Rex Harrison & Audrey Hepburn, The Caine Mutiny with Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray & Jose Ferrer, and Gone with the Wind.

Have you played any good board games lately? Trudy & I often play backgammon in the evening, but we haven’t lately. (I think she got mad after I won several games in a row a while back)

What are two things that you are really happy that you get to do right now?
Work on my old car during the day and relax with a good book in front of the fireplace in the evening. Trudy & I plan to drive our ’31 Model A Ford to California via old Route 66, and return via the Trans-Canada Highway this summer, so preparing the car has been my winter project.

If you were to make a mixed tape, what would you put on it?
Songs from the 50’s by Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, etc.; some classic country western and some Spanish favorites by Julio Iglesias

Have your ever disliked something and then changed your mind?
Yes. For one thing, I’ve found first impressions of people aren’t always accurate.

If you had only one sense (hearing, touch, sight, etc.), which would you want?
That would be a tough decision, but I guess it would be sight.

What is your definition of “success?”
To have many good friends

If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Wow, that’s difficult to say. I enjoy history, especially books about events of the 20th Century that shaped the world for my time on earth, so I would pick something like Ken Follett’s Century Trilogy, although that is actually 3 books.

You have to get takeout for dinner; where do you go and what do you get? Los Zarapes in Mahomet – Shrimp Chimichanga

What do you want people to know right now? I believe it was Winston Churchill who is credited with saying “Americans will eventually do the right thing, after trying all the alternatives” or something like that. So keep the faith!