Me and the Jerk

In the movie The Jerk, Navin R Johnson (Steve Martin) is handed a copy of the new AT&T phone book:

Navin R. Johnson: The new phone book's here! The new phone book's here!
Harry Hartounian: Boy, I wish I could get that excited about nothing.
Navin R. Johnson: Nothing? Are you kidding? Page 73 - Johnson, Navin R.! I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book everyday! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now. 

Glory be, I'm just like a cat at the rat hole, Excited! I'm in print. I'm somebody now. John Archibald, of the Birmingham News and AL.com, quoted me and provided a few excerpts from my book Delmont's Slang Blade. So that means that my name is in the phone book and the largest newspaper in Alabama. I was even in the same article as Rick Bragg, famous Alabama author. Now that will make the wax pop out of your ears.

 

Boy howdy, it doesn't take much to make a country boy grin. However, I suspect fame and fortune will not come as a result of this recognition. In fact, I do not aspire to living the fancy life like I did in my 20s. I am content with the love of my family and friends. And, of course, Molly the chocolate colored Shih Tzu. After being in the military, working in the business world, and working in the nonprofit sector, I appreciate being able to utilize the right side of my brain for a while; to hang around the house, paint a few pictures, and piddle around the yard. Piddling is the way to go.



Hopefully, this will prevent me from getting a lopsided brain. New studies show that children who grow up utilizing smart phones and computer games develop a noticeable increase in the size of the left side of their brain. The creative right side is not used as much. This can cause future memory issues and, according to them (whoever them is) can cause early onset Alzheimer's. I'm getting there fast enough, I don't need anything that will speed it up.