The Bulldog Nation enjoyed a touch of humor amidst their tough opening season when Dedra Grizzard, wife of the late Southern humorist Lewis Grizzard, spoke with the DawgDial radio call-in show.
Considering the University of Georgia’s current 1-4 record before the upcoming game against Tennessee, Dedra offered that her husband “certainly would have had a lot to write about.”
In the interview with Radi Nabulsi and Anthony Dasher, Dedra recalled her husband’s appreciation for UGA football, and discussed the numerous upcoming events celebrating Grizzard’s life, including the re-release of his book They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat by NewSouth Books.
“Lewis was a devout worshipper of the Church of the Sacred Bulldog,” Dedra quipped. She is herself both a Georgia and Tennessee fan, and she recalled one occasion where Grizzard offered her money and even a red sports car if she would not wear Tennessee colors to a Georgia game; Dedra declined.
She also talked about the time Grizzard hadn’t been scheduled a flight to a Georgia/Auburn game, and so he found a seat on a small plane, despite that it was carrying a corpse, in order to fly to Auburn.
In a funny, poignant moment, Dedra also described how she and a friend had to sneak in to UGA’s Sanford Stadium to sprinkle part of the late Grizzard’s ashes on the 50-yard line — only to find that the lines had been removed that day for construction. As they hurried to finish, Dedra’s friend offered, “Just throw the ashes in the middle — Lewis will find the 50!”
Nabulsi called Grizzard a “wordsmith,” and said that “everybody needs that voice of the Bulldog Nation and no one has been able to fill it. In other words, we still miss him greatly.”
Dedra invited all Grizzard fans to attend the Lewis Grizzard’s Hometown Reunion festival on October 16 and 17 in Moreland and Newnan, Georgia. Among the events will be barbeque and grits-cooking contests, music by the Buck Eye Band, and a showing of actor Bill Oberst, Jr.’s one-man Lewis Grizzard tribute show, Lewis Grizzard: In His Own Words.
Dedra will also sign copies of the re-release of They Tore Out My Heart at the festival. Alabama Public Radio’s Don Noble said “we should be grateful to NewSouth for making this little book available, so we can again hear Grizzard’s sardonic and insightful voice,” calling Grizzard a rare “consistently funny writer who gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure.”
The DawgDial radio program is available in podcast for listening online. Learn more about Lewis Grizzard’s Hometown Reunion at www.lewisgrizzard.com. They Tore Out My Heart and Stomped That Sucker Flat is available from NewSouth Books, Amazon, or your favorite local or online book retailer.