A fantastic southern humorist helped me get through 2020.

Writing Life Stories is the name of this blog. That is because I enjoy writing true stories about events in my life and about people in my life, present and those who have gone on. 

This past week, a wonderful southern humorist, Jeanne Robertson, died just two months after her husband passed away. She was in her seventies but still going on speaking tours. In fact, she had a full schedule planned for the coming months. One of them was in my hometown Albany, GA. I don't live there now and would not have seen her in person, but I feel I know this woman who was Miss North Carolina. She was six feet two inches tall, the tallest person to ever enter the Miss America Contest. She was nineteen when she was voted Miss Congeniality in 1963. 

During the past year, like millions of others, I discovered Jeanne on YouTube, and thanks to her I have laughed more than I have in years. She is southern and talks with a southern accent, an accent I have heard all my life from educated people. She went to school at Auburn University in Alabama, but she and her husband Jerry were supporters of Elon University in North Carolina. 

I have grieved over the loss of this delightful woman who packed auditoriums with her clean humor. She never used profanity or filthy language. To me, that shows her talent. I once heard Chris Rock say that when he felt his audience not responding to his comedy, all he had to do was curse and everyone laughed. I don't enjoy most of the comics today because they rely on gimmicks and mean-spirited jokes to get laughs. Jeanne Robertson did not do that.

I grew up in a family of storytellers. My father was great and Uncle Jimmy was outstanding. Like Bill Cosby and others of his era, Jeanne used facial expressions, body language, and pure energy to connect with her wide audience. She didn't throw out four-letter words or shock people with her behavior. She took simple actions or words from people she met and people in her family to form stories that I relate to and see in my mind. I laugh out loud. I have found that I can go to bed at night and put on her YouTube videos and watch one after the other, even those I have seen already, and forget the troubles of the day.

Jeanne said her goal was to find humor in everyday things and she encouraged those of us who watched her to look for the funny stories or funny things that happened in our own lives. She said she was not a comic, but a humourist. She was a speaker. She didn't perform in Comedy Clubs. She was paid to speak at conventions and large meetings all over this country. She was an attractive woman even as she aged and her health began to fail. In 2020, she had to stop touring because of COVID and began a show from her back porch. In those shows, her fans interacted and some of the characters in her stories were guests. 

Gay and Stu and I are huge fans of Jeanne Robertson and I am so happy that her stories will continue to be with us online. I plan to purchase one of her CDs or an audiobook. 

You can find her here and on YouTube. I know you will like her and laugh at her funny stories.

Why do all good things have to end?

I wish you all could have been at John C. Campbell Folk School this afternoon at 4:45 p.m. to hear my students read some of the pieces they wrote this week.


Judy began the reading with stories of the Border War between her grandfather and his neighbor. Judy researched her grandfather, talked with her siblings and others who told her about this character, but she fleshed out this man and told his story in class. The audience loved it.

Pat is an Episcopal Priest. She is also a writer. She writes sermons and has great command of the language, but this was her first attempt to write outside her spiritual work. She said this class has been fun and she now feels confident enough to submit work for publication. The listeners this afternoon at the Keith House loved her reading. I'll never forget "The Conductor."

I’ve read much of Nadine’s memoir since she has been in my classes in the past. She is writing the story of her life and when it is finished, it will make an excellent book. Today she read an excerpt called Aunt Betty’s store. The story stands alone with a beginning that grabs the reader, a great setting, delightful characters and humor. The story entertains and enlightens the reader. Nadine was a hit with the audience she faced today, and her marvelous sense of humor endeared her to all of us.

The biggest surprise this week, for me, was Vicki, another former student who is often quiet and fairly serious in the subjects she chooses. She was the last to read this afternoon. Vicki began with a short but powerful story about death, an elderly woman and an old dog. As I watched the small group sitting before her, listening to every word, I saw tears begin to roll down cheeks, tissues pulled from pockets and faces contorted in efforts to hold back the water works.

The second piece Vicki read was as humorous as the first was sad. Within a few minutes the writer, who had reduced her audience to tears, turned them completely around, and they laughed throughout the hilarious true story about Vicki dying her grandmother’s hair. Much of the joy of this story was in the performance, the dramatic voice and gestures of the writer. I hope Vicki will do some open mic reading in our area this summer.

As you can see, this has been another class at JCCFS in which students and teacher fell in love with writing about our unique lives and sharing funny, sad and nostalgic memories. I hope my students from this class continue to write, to attend writing workshops and seminars with good instructors. That will enrich what they have learned this week. And I hope to see them in my classes again one day.

Tomorrow is our last day, and we sadly say goodbye to the folk school experience, to each other and to having a full week to engage in our passion for writing.