Now, keep up to date
with daily feeds of newly posted stories
about America's Seniors...click on the box
to the left
Jeff
Foxworthy: Ever wonder what makes him
laugh?
ATLANTA, GA – You probably already know that, over a long career, Jeff
Foxworthy, stand-up comedian, TV star,
prolific author and many, many more things,
has made millions of people around the World
laugh.
But did you ever wonder what makes Foxworthy himself laugh?
Well, we know one person has accomplished that—Michael Garee,
senior commentator, humorist and author of
recently published humor book on aging,
200 Sure-Fire, Lead-Pipe-Cinch,
No-Question-About-It Ways to Tell If . . .
You Might Be Getting OLD!
[Eloquent Books, 2008]
Here’s how Garee, 66, explains his recent
experience with fellow Atlantan Foxworthy.
“I’ve been a big fan of Jeff Foxworthy’s
comedy and writing for many, many years,” he
said, “and I’ve always thought of him as
decent, family-oriented guy.
"Of
course I was also quite aware that that
could merely have been a persona he has
carefully cultivated over the years.
"Now,
I know for certain that, not only is he a
‘class act,’ he’s also a ‘class guy.’ A
stand-up comedian—and a great and very
talented one—yes, but also very much a real
stand-up guy too!”
“Last year I published my first humor book,”
Garee added.
“And since my book was so strongly
influenced by Foxworthy’s You Might Be a
Redneck If . . . series of books, I
dedicated it to him. I then thought to
myself, wouldn’t it be great if I could get
him to review the book and tell me what he
thought of it?”
Garee said he contacted Foxworthy through
his (Foxworthy’s) New York City publisher,
since, for obvious reasons, there was no
local address available for the comedian.
“To be honest about it,” Garee said, “I
thought the chances that Jeff would actually
see my letter, let alone actually
respond to it, were about as good as a
snowball in you-know-where.”
Little did Garee know.
About three months later—literally out of
the blue—Garee received a personal letter
from Foxworthy telling him that he would be
glad to review Garee’s new book.
“To say that you could have knocked me over
with a feather would be a gross
understatement,” Garee laughed.
“Here was a man—a famous celebrity—who
stays about as busy as one can imagine, but
he still took the time to write me, a
longtime fan, completely unknown to him, a
personal letter. Amazing!”
As requested, Garee sent Foxworthy a copy of
his new book shortly after it was published,
and true to his word, within a relatively
short time, Foxworthy responded with a
personal note.
“Get this,” Garee laughed, “Jeff begins his
note with, ‘Sorry for the delay’! Here is a
man who currently is working on two new
books, creating a new animated series,
helping a friend with a new movie, opening
new restaurants, is heavily involved in
charity work with Duke University Children’s
Hospital in Durham, NC, which treats
children with cancer, and hosts the
popular TV series ‘Smarter than a 5th
grader,’ and he apologizes to me
for making me ‘wait’ for his review of my
book!”
Further underscoring how Foxworthy puts his
own life into proper perspective, he told
Garee in the personal note, “These are all
just my second jobs. My first jobs
are being a husband and a dad.”
What was Foxworthy’s reaction to Garee’s
book?
“He said my book made him ‘laugh out loud,
though far too many of the (one-liners in my
book) hit way too close to home,’ since
Foxworthy just turned 50 himself this year,”
Garee said.
“Even if my book never becomes a tremendous
commercial success, the fact that it
made Jeff Foxworthy laugh, in my mind, will
always make You Might Be Getting OLD!
a tremendous success to me!”
... ..
...
...