LIVERPOOL, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Everybody tells stories at one time or another, but Mary Shea Rys really throws herself into it. She hits the books for research just as she taught kids to do all those years as a grade school teacher.
Since she retired from the Liverpool Central School District, Rys has taken up a new but similar calling as a professional storyteller. She visits schools and summer camps to talk with audiences big and small, young and old.
“When I tell a story, there’s nothing between me and you but my words,” Rys said. “That lets me have eye contact with the children and really gauge their emotionality.”
When we met Rys, she asked a grinning young girl, “What is your favorite story?”…