The Devil Went Down to Georgia

The theme for this article is the State of Georgia. And why might you ask? I just happened to be looking at the Atlanta Braves baseball schedule to see when I might pop down for a couple of games and decided, what the heck, I may as well write about Georgia. I guess that I just had Georgia on my mind.

Wiglund and I took a trip a few years back to see the Braves and his Los Angeles Dodgers down at Turner Field. During this trip we drove to Moreland, Georgia one afternoon to visit the Lewis Grizzard Museum. When we arrived at the museum it was closed...I don't think it opened up very often...there was a sign in the window that gave a number to call for a visit. We did peek in the windows of the old house, but it must have not been very interesting because I don't recall much of anything that we saw.

Lewis Grizzard was a comedian, writer, editor and basically just a good old boy from Georgia. I've enjoyed reading several of his books, including; 'If Love Were Oil, I'd Be About a Quart Low', 'Won't You Come Home Billy Bob Bailey: An Assortment of Home-Cooked Journalism for People Who Wonder Why Clean Underwear Doesn't Grow on Trees' and 'When My Love Returns From The Ladies Room, Will I Be Too Old To Care'. Lewis was married four times during his life and at one time, I believe after the third divorce, he declared that if he ever even thought about getting married again he decided to find the ugliest woman around and just buy her a house. Amen, Brother Lewis.

"Nobody ever knew exactly how much Cordie Mae weighed, but her Daddy used to say, 'If I could get $1.25 a pound for that child, I could pay off my truck.'" -- Lewis Grizzard

Lewis was a very talented individual and became the Sports Editor for the Atlanta Journal when he was only 23 years old. Unfortunately, this die-hard University of Georgia Bulldog fan had a bad ticker and wound up leaving us at the relatively young age of 48. One of his last requests to his fourth wife and friends was to have his ashes scattered over the 50-yard line at the University of Georgia's football field at Sanford Stadium, a request which was honored surreptitiously one night by his widow and best friend.

The Atlanta Journal, which is actually a merger of the Journal and the Constitution and now called the Journal Constitution, has had several prominent past employees. One of whom was Erskine Caldwell, who just happened to have been born in Lewis Grizzard's hometown of Moreland. For those of you who enjoy reading novels, you may have read Erskine's controversial writings, 'Tobacco Road' or 'God's Little Acre'. It is a little hard to believe in 2010, but back in 1933 after writing 'God's Little Acre', Erskine was arrested and had his books confiscated. Apparently, his writings offended some influential members of the New York Literary Society.

"I want a young wife. I ain't gonna take no 23 year old woman for a wife, have everybody laughin' at me." -- Lov Bensey from Erskine's 'Tobacco Road'

In 1939, Erskine married another journalist, Margaret Bourke-White. Bourke-White, although an excellent writer for the Atlanta Journal, was more famously known for her photographic skills. As a matter of fact, she may have been the greatest photojournalist of all time. My picture for this article of the little boy with the train comes from her collection.

In the early 1920's a young writer for the Journal known as Peggy Mitchell, contributed an exceptionally well written weekly column on a variety of subjects. Peggy, or Margaret Mitchell, would later pen the wonderful Civil War novel, 'Gone with the Wind'.

"You're right, my dear. I'm not in love with you any more than you are with me. Heaven help the man who ever really loves you." -- Rhett Butler from Gone with the Wind

Margaret had a cousin by marriage, who was also an interesting Georgian but found his notoriety in the wild west. This gentleman, who was born in Griffin, Georgia, received a degree in dentistry and opened up shop in Atlanta in 1872, but was soon diagnosed with tuberculosis. He moved his dental practice to Dallas, Texas in search of a more suitable climate for his disease. While there he found that gambling was much more profitable than dentistry and there began the gambling career of John Henry "Doc" Holliday.

"Maybe poker's just not your game Ike. I know! Let's have a spelling contest!" -- Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in 'Tombstone'

Doc Holliday had another cousin of note, Dr. Crawford Williamson Long, who pioneered the use of ether as an anesthetic and used it successfully in many operations. Dr. Long's roommate at the University of Georgia was the future statesman Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederacy.

"We are without doubt on the verge, on the brink of an abyss into which I do not wish to look." -- Alexander Stephens, shortly after Lincoln's election

And now, as I climb out of this Georgian abyss and back to the bliss of my Bloomfield abode, I wish all of you a wonderful Easter weekend. Here's to hoping that you all find the golden egg. And as you watch Butler whip up on Michigan State this weekend on their way to a National Championship, just remember this:

Q. What do Easter Bunny helpers get for making a basket?

A. Two points, just like anyone else (unless all four feet are behind the line...and then you get three).