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.

Family, is there anything more important?

This weekend my sister, Gay, and I worked together on our family and friends reunion set for May 11-12. This Gathering is for the descendants of Coy Lee and Lois Robison Council, both born in the early 1900s. We have invited relatives and friends who are not direct descendants, but who have touched our lives. 

I am happy that my husband's brother's children are coming and will bring their children. Family members are bringing friends to spend the weekend at the lovely resort where we will gather. We have a new baby in the family and I look forward to meeting him for the first time. 

Jon Beall on Silver, the greatest little pony ever

We have a cousin from New Port Richy,  FL who is making the drive. She is special to me. We don't see each other often, but when we do we love to talk and laugh together. Her mother and her grandmother were close to our family. Some of my fondest recollections from my youth was when Aunt Annie and Vivian visited  They brought music and laughter with them. In those days when there was no TV gobbling up everyone's time, the family sat around the supper table and talked. Afterward, Aunt Annie would play guitar and sing. Vivian, her daughter harmonized beautifully. I was very young at that time, but I remember the haunting ballads and the funny, clever songs they sang.

Gay and I have gone through boxes and albums of old photos, and I must have scanned and posted over one hundred for a slide show presentation. Seeing those pictures brought back so many wonderful memories and also brought back the sadness of losing my brothers and my sister, June. Once we were seven.

Glenda and Gay, sisters, who can accomplish almost anything together

Now only three of us remain and my last brother is in very serious condition. I tell him he must be there for The Gathering to tell us one of his wonderful stories. He wants to be there and I pray he will be able to come.

Family of storytellers

My family has always been full of stories and we have always had good story tellers to share them. As I get older I understand even more how precious family is to us. No matter how much we might have disagreed or argued over things we thought were important, the love we have for each other is all that really matters. I talked with my brother today and missed that happy, pleasant man I've always known, I heard the weakness in his voice, the concern for his health, and the appreciation he has for those who help him. A thoughtful relative brought food. His sons are trying to make his life as easy as possible by setting up a hospital bed downstairs for him. Everyone is worried.

I was there a few days ago and wish I could be there to care for him, but we live miles apart. He said my visit made him feel better. I hope so. It made me feel better to see him, to go with him to his doctor, to talk with his sons and try to help them as best I could. 

Life is short

I hope if you are estranged from a loved one, a brother or sister, a parent, you will reach out to them and forgive them if they have hurt you, because, in the big scheme of things, is that what really matters? Even if they don't forgive and forget, you will feel better knowing you have. 

Jerry Cowling, Florida based storyteller and writer

A cousin in Florida sent me a bit of info on one of their local writers.
His website http://www.jerrycowling.com/ gives information on his writing and his storytelling, and you can watch his YouTube video. Check out Jerry Cowling and you might want him to entertain your group with his stories or you will want to order his historic based novel.