By Carol Ferguson
Herald-Banner Staff
When Sammy and Vicki Griffis got married, they were told it wouldn’t last.
“We were practically just babies; I was just out of the Army,” said Sammy, laughing.
“I was just about out of high school,” chimed in Vicki, adding, “I saw him and he didn’t have a chance.”
Now, 46 years later, they’re still married, and are celebrating their lives together with a new book titled “Jest the Two of Us: A Humorous Look at His and Her Columns.”
However the family includes more than “jest” two. There are son, Jeff; daughter, Stefani; and three grandchildren, Austin, Katelyn and Kylie.
The couple owned Celeste Insurance Agency, but their daughter now owns it. They are retired.
The writing began once their children were in school, said Vicki.
“People would come into the insurance office saying funny things, and I took them over to Dale Gibson who was running the Celeste Star,” she said. “I became the paper’s ‘Candid Reporter,’ with stories running every week. Then,
Sammy came into the writing picture almost as a standin, initially, for his wife.
“I worked full-time for Proctor and Gamble in Dallas,” he said. “Sometimes her duties would overwhelm her, and periodically I would write a column for the Tribune for her when she didn’t have time. People started to ask when I would writeagain. I was putting in spins and quips for the Celeste Alumni Yahoo group, and they would say, ‘When are you going to write a column again?’” The upshot was that they each began doing columns for alternating issues of the Tribune, and the idea for combining their work in a book followed.
“I had started going to meetings of the Silver Leos writing group at Texas A&MCommerce,” said Vicki. “Dr. Fred Tarpley (the group’s mentor) encouraged me. This was going to be a Tarpleyproduced book, but then he got ill and I didn’t want to bother him with this. My aunt, Patricia Ann Vance, who has been a journalism teacher in the Houston area for 30 years, edited and formatted the book for us.”
The columns deal with amusing incidents in family life, the kind of stories that readers, and especially those who are parents or grandparents, can identify with. Naturally the two columnists each have their favorites among the stories they have written.
“My favorite column is the one titled ‘I Can Quit Anytime I Want To,’” said Vicki. It deals with shouting opinions at referees when children or grandchildren are involved in a school-sponsored game.
Sammy said his favorite of his own columns is “A Thing of Beauty.” While mowing the yard, he begins to muse about things that still remain in the yard — an old sandbox, the remnants of a tree house, the basketball backboard and goal (minus its net) — all connectedwith precious familymemories.
Vicki, who says she’s a latenightperson, does all of herwriting after everyone is asleep.
Sammy, on the other hand, explained,“I have to go in a room by myself with my mind set to write. If I try it with other stuff going on, I can’t.
That’s why I’m just a better writer than she is,” he added jokingly.
This kind of back-and-forth bantering permeates their work as well as their lives.
Actually their book is also a celebration of small-town life.
Sammy grew up in Celeste and graduated from high school there. Vicki went to Greenville High School for 11 years, but finished at Celeste.
“In a small town, if the kids are doing something wrong, neighbors and friends will tell you,” Sammy said. “And small schools have close to one-onone teaching and athletic programs. This all came home to me when our son, who was 14 at the time, was in a threewheeler wreck. He was in the hospital for seven weeks. Out of a town of about 700 people, about 200 came to visit him during that time. When someone is down, they help you up.”
Vicki said that when their children were growing up and living at home, “We always left the porch light on until everyone was home safely. We still leave the porch light on at night. It may sound silly, but it’s there to let family know that someone there loves them. Only when they’re visiting here and everyone’s home does it go out.”
Over the years she has been active in a variety of local organizations. She was president of PTA, and was named “Neighbor of the Year” for Celeste. She is still active in their church, Celeste United Methodist, where she is a Sunday school teacher and a lay leader.
“I’m married to an addictive volunteer,” said her husband. “When she volunteers, I’m a volunteer. She has said when she volunteers for something, my back starts hurting.”
Sammy is also active in their church and is now on the finance committee and a trustee, as well as being treasurer of the Masonic lodge and a former lodge Master.
The couple had a book-signing on May 30 to benefit the Celeste Public Library. As luck would have it, this was a Saturday morning when the clouds opened up and rain poured down for some time. Even so, a large group of friends carrying umbrellas came out to support them, they said.
Looking at their second career as published writers, Vicki said, “We want to encourage everyone to follow their dreams, whatever they are.”
“I’m paraphrasing Dear Abby when I say this, but go ahead and take a chance,” Sammy advised. “Don’t say you’re too old. Go ahead. You’ll get older whether you do anything or not.”“Jest the Two of Us” by Sammy and Vicki Griffis is available in both paperback and Kindle on amazon.com and copies are also at the Celeste Insurance Agency.
Vicki and Sammy Griffis have combined columns they wrote for the Celeste Tribune into a newly published book that focuses on family and small-town life.
Carol Ferguson / Herald-Banner
http://www.amazon.com/Jest-Two-Us-Humorous-Columns/dp/1507560818
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