The Phenomenon Of Gary

    

        When my sister was in grade 10, I heard many stories about the legendary ‘Gary’; a mysterious individual who would post sticky notes all over the school with the signature ‘Gary’. It was a fun and curious mystery for the students, whereas to some of the staff at Iroquois Ridge High School, it was a nuisance and pain to clean. I have had the wonderful chance to talk to the anonymous figure and here I am unfolding the ‘myth’ of Gary.

*Fun fact: Gary’s favourite thing about being the anonymous ‘Gary’ was the fame and suspicion of his fellow students. Being able to live a double life. Kind of like Hannah Montana or Spiderman.

            
The anonymous artist's real name is not actually 'Gary'. For a semester of grade 10, 'Gary' attended Gary Allen High School's outdoor program; Trailhead. As a joke, his friends started calling him 'Gary', and the name stuck.

       Placing famous sticky notes all over the school without anyone noticing was a lot easier than one might think. ‘Gary’ would pre sign the sticky notes and stealthily stick them anywhere he wanted. Of course like any other person, ‘Gary’ had a sidekick. He had a friend and companion, someone who would ensure that he would never get caught by watching his back. In fact, they were so inseparable that most people had often mistaken his friend for 'Gary'. This was similar to how the New York Police Department despised Spider-Man. Some of the authorities at Iroquois didn’t exactly support ‘Gary’, this is justifiable as the sticky notes were very annoying to constantly remove.

     
‘Gary’ loved the idea of graffiti, but he never wanted to damage the school property, or get in too much trouble. That’s why he used sticky notes.  Despite the fact that he had a friend helping him, 'Gary' did get caught. One time, a teacher walked out of a room while he was putting up the sticky notes, and the word spread. He was not immediately in trouble, however when the notes had gotten out of hand, 'Gary' was confronted by the principal. This did not stop him from continuing. He found loopholes, and was a little more careful to hide the notes. For example; 'Gary' knew the location of all of the school's security cameras, so he make sure to never place notes under the cameras. Or if he did, he would face his back to the camera to make sure that he wouldn't get caught.

        Throughout the year, 'Gary' would occasionally pull off themed stunts; things like the Easter Egg Hunt, Christmas Santa Hats, Valentines, and many more. It all started in Christmas. ‘Gary’ had already began hiding the sticky notes all over the school but he wanted to do something more. By then, 'Gary' was quite famous, so he used his well known name to decorate the school with themed sticky notes. “It gave me fame, but to spice it up, I decided to do something else, and actually make some art, rather then just write on sticky notes and plaster them around the school.  So I started decorating the halls with holiday themed art.  Around Christmas, Halloween, etc.." 'Gary' explained. As the year went by, the ‘Gary’ trend had gotten bigger. He created an Easter Egg Hunt and put hundreds of chocolate eggs all around the school. Some prizes were sticky notes with riddles on the back and if people found them, they could send him a picture via Facebook and his friends would deliver gifts.    

        These events had gotten major support from the student body, to quote some responses to 'Gary':

“ Hey Gary! I think I know who you are but I haven’t told a single soul. And I never will! I just wanna thank you for the fun you gave me and my friends... it sure has helped me with the struggles of grade nine, getting used to the school! Keep it up and thank you!”

and another:

“Gary has made my friends and I all feel welcome to the school and involved in the school. With Gary’s Easter Egg Hunt and all the gary artwork in the art show I feel that gary is part of IRHS and I know my friends feel the same way. Gary has only positive effects on the student and teachers at the school and I hope this continues through the school even after Gary has left.”

There were many other similar responses.

      Before leaving 'Gary' had a last wish, to create a lasting imprint on IRHS, he got permission to permanently sign part of the art room. It is still there to this day on the walls of the second art room. By the end of the year pretty much everybody had figured out that it was him, and 'Gary' did a grand revealing.

*Fun fact; In 'Gary’s graduating year (2011-2012), the current grade twelves were grade nines. This means that they are the last year to have experienced this phenomenon. After they graduate, no one (except for the Ridge staff) will remember any of these events.

     At the end of the interview, I asked ‘Gary’ if he would sign ‘Gary’ one last time. He agreed, and you will find somewhere in the school the returning imprint of ‘Gary’. A mystery. Art. Graffiti. A piece of Ridge History.