Laughter is the best medicine for Stavely man

By Rob Vogt

As people gathered at Raymond’s Restaurant in Nanton on Saturday night, they were looking not only to enjoy the Chinese food buffet but a night of comedy.
Since June, monthly comedy shows, including an open mic session, have been taking place.
They have been organized by Aaron Cheshire of Stavely.
“I want to get the community together and showcase their creativity,” he said. “I want to bring some laughter with my experiences in life.
“I’ve found laughter is the best medicine.”
Yet more amazing than any joke he tells, is the journey that brought Aaron Cheshire to a microphone in Nanton.
It started on June 1, 2005, not much after Cheshire turned 25.
That time in life is when people are just getting into their own, beginning to find out who they are.
“I was just getting on my feet then life knocked me down,” Cheshire said. “Life felt like a comedy show and I was the punch line.”
That day, he was involved in a collision that left him in a coma for two months.
His doctors prepared his family for the worst. If he woke up, he could not take care of himself and would require around-the-clock care.
He had suffered brain damage to his cerebellum, which Cheshire said is responsible for everything.
“It was a miracle I woke up,” he said.
When he did wake up, he had forgotten who he was. He could not remember so much of his life.
“It was the scariest thing ever,” Cheshire said.
Moreover, he described feeling like he had an 85-year-old body. It was full of metal, including 15 plates in his face.
“The only thing it didn’t knock out was my soul,” Cheshire said.
The one thing he did not lose was his sense of humour.
“I never lost that passion,” Cheshire said.
He spent six months in hospital, where he had to learn everything all over again – the alphabet, colours, emotions, cooking, forming words, walking and so much more.
There was a lot of speech and occupational therapy too.
“I was totally lost,” Cheshire said.
He said he could have not made it without the love and support of his blended family. That is why he is so passionate about family, love and acceptance.
“I experienced the power of family and all it can do,” Cheshire said.
After a lot of hard work and determination he was released from hospital.
“Everything was new,” Cheshire said. “Everything was kind of scary.”
As he adjusted to his new reality, his father Lee Cheshire tried to teach him to drive.
However, Cheshire had no confidence or experience.
“I was a gong show on the road,” he said with a smile.
Then Lee saw the show “Canada’s Worst Driver” on TV.
“My father, being a bit of a comedian himself, thought he would enter his son,” Aaron said.
The producers had heard Cheshire’s collision was caused by a distracted driver, in the other vehicle bending down to pick up a cigarette.
So Cheshire was chosen for Season 7 of the show, and he learned a lot.
“How the rules of the road are similar to the rules of life,” he said. “I became a better driver, a better person.”
His confidence came back as a result of being on that show.
“The show defined my life,” Cheshire said. “(How to) take my situation and do some good.”
He appreciated the way his story was used too.
“I felt pride, I felt accomplishment,” he said.
It was as if this was a reward for all that therapy, the depression, the wanting to give up, but not.
“Being on that show was like an infusion of life,” Cheshire said.
After two weeks of filming in Thunder Bay, the effect was immediate.
“I came back to life,” he said, adding he had ambition and energy again. “It was like I was a new person.”
The show aired, and it changed his life.
He went to Mexico and someone there recognized him from the show.
“I felt really empowered to do more, make more of an impact,” Cheshire said.
He was then contacted by the Prevent Alcohol and Risk-Related Trauma in Youth, or P.A.R.T.Y. Program.
“I spent seven years telling my story to ninth graders,” Cheshire said.
He would talk about being horribly down and picking himself up.
“My goal was to help kids think about their choices and the repercussions of their actions,” Cheshire said.
In response, he would receive letters from students about his presentation.
“They really touched my heart,” he said. “It was the greatest therapy for me.”
From there, he went to visit his mother in Stavely.
“I fell in love with the quiet,” Cheshire said, adding there were no cars or lights or noise like in the big city. “I could think, I could sleep, I could hear my thoughts.”
So, he moved to Stavely.
Comedy had always been part of Cheshire’s life.
His father was a member of the Calgary Fire Department who introduced Aaron to the fire department’s clown team, where he was part of parades and shows.
“I was brought up as a clown, a goof ball,” he said. “Someone who wanted people to laugh, have fun, make people happy.”
About two years ago, he took a comedy class in Calgary.
“I really enjoyed it,” Cheshire said.
At the same time, he was feeling restless and unsettled, but there were no outlets for his comedy in Calgary.
Before his accident, he ran a comedy club in northwest Calgary called the Red Room Studio. It was a place for people to gather and do comedy.
Interestingly, he worked with Tegan And Sara, who went on to become Canadian recording sensations, and watched their career take off.
“It was amazing to watch,” Cheshire said.
So in June he revived the Red Room Studio at Raymond’s in Nanton.
“People are responding,” Cheshire said. “They seem to enjoy it.”
He has teamed with Alexander Yanko, an actor and high school teacher in Claresholm, to host these comedy nights.
Each event features performers, comedians, and an open mike for people to try their hand at live comedy.
They are free to attend.
Cheshire and Yanko also have a weekly radio show called “The Comedy Corner” on “The Hub”, a station broadcasting Sunday and Tuesday nights from Nanton and available online at nantonradio.ca.
“My goal is to use the radio show to really bring the community together,” Cheshire said.
“It’s just the beginning,” he added.
The last show of 2024 was this past Saturday night, Nov. 16, but shows will begin again in the new year.