One of my favorite writers was Lewis Grizzard. What first caught my attention about Grizzard’s books were the titles. His titles MADE you reach for the book. A few of my favorites are Elvis Is Dead and I Don’t Feel So Good Myself and If Love Were Oil, I’d Be About a Quart Low. These catch your attention. You have to reach for them and see what they are about. My favorite, which needs no explanation, is Chili Dogs Always Bark at Night.
Grizzard was an author, comedian, speaker, and newspaper man. He was raised in Moreland, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. Moreland is where you take that first deep breath because you realize you are no longer racing in the Peachtree 500. Many of Grizzard’s books grew out of articles he wrote while working at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While Grizzard is remembered for his writing, he would have been a national treasure simply for some of his sayings. This is a man who said, “Life is like a dog sled race. If you ain’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.”
Grizzard wrote openly about his marriages…and divorces. At one point, he said he wasn’t going to get married again. He was just going to find a woman he didn’t like and give her a house.
Lewis Grizzard was a New York Times bestselling author, a newspaper columnist, a speaker, a comedian, a husband multiple times, and even an actor.
Recently, while driving home from Atlanta, I pulled off the interstate to get gas and realized I was in Moreland, Georgia. I had to see what the town looked like. I found the Lewis Grizzard historical marker on Main Street. Next to the marker was the Lewis Grizzard museum, though it was closed. I then made my way to Southview Cemetery.
Grizzard suffered from heart problems and died much too young, at the age of 47. After a quick search, I found the grave of “A Great American…Lewis M. Grizzard Jr.”
I’ve seen headstones that said mother, father, son, and even our baby. But never “A Great American.”
A fitting final, concise sentence for a great writer.
As I drove home, I kept thinking about that headstone. Most of us will end up with one. In a moment of grief…hopefully there will be a little grief…someone will be tasked with writing something “nice” about us. What will they say?
Evangelist Junior Hill, who always battled weight issues, said he wanted his tombstone to read, “Slim at last.” I’m thinking about using that myself.
Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, had “That’s All Folks!” chiseled on his tombstone. Rodney Dangerfield’s marker simply says, “There goes the neighborhood.”
What will yours say?
Great American? Devoted husband or wife? Faithful follower of Christ?
Earn those words. Live a life that makes it easy for the poor sap who has to come up with something that everyone…forever…will see.
Don’t make him have to lie.
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