Stone Handy: Veteran, Poet, Musician

Self-proclaimed “Renaissance Man,” Stone Handy comes from a military family. He followed other family members and joined the Marine Corps in 1966.

After serving in Vietnam until ‘68, Handy made his way back to the states where he settled in Miami, until he furthered his military career in the U.S. Coast Guard.

At 27, Handy was dealing with a lot of stress from 'Nam that he wasn’t sure how to handle. A mentor told him to start keeping a journal as a way to express what he was feeling.

“I was struggling with dumping Vietnam, and the Vet groups didn’t work” Handy said. “I really enjoyed the writing, and it really did help me dump a lot of stuff.”

A gift that started out as a hobby in his military days now gives Handy something to focus on. “I used to do open mic performances with a guitar and singing,” remembers Handy.

He went from guitar and vocals to writing and speaking. “I would go to the coast in northern California and just write what I was feeling,” Handy said. “Then one night I was at a bar for open mic and I got up and I just spoke what I had written. I got a tremendous response.”

Stone Handy says that most humans think the same things, but that getting the thoughts out can be difficult. “I just started putting words together and taking one thought, then developing it,” Handy explains. “A lot of times we don’t know how to verbalize the things we think about.”

While making drums in the mid-90’s he discovered that the instrument could be used with spoken word as means of music.

Now at 64, Handy finds bliss in his music while sharing it with the community. “When people come up to me after I perform and tell me things like ‘that really hit me’ or ‘I feel that, thank you,’ that makes me happy,” said Handy.

Come see Stone Handy:

Come see Stone Handy at The Blueberry Patch's open mic night on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m.

Slide Show Photo Credits, Courtesy of Stone Handy:

Carol Harmon

Lehua Pettay

Michelle Legrandier

Rachel Jolley

William Jolley