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Inspired by Foxworthy’s ‘Redneck’ books retired senior publishes book poking fun at getting old

ATLANTA—200 Sure-Fire, Lead-Pipe-Cinch, No-Question-About-It Ways to Tell if . . . You Might be Getting OLD! is the title of a new book just published by 66-year-old retiree Michael L. Garee of Metropolitan Atlanta.

The book, which retails for $11.50, is published by Eloquent Books of New York City, is available at www.youmightbegettingoldif.com,  Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other major online book retailers. It is also available in book stores throughout the nation.

Garee said his new book was strongly inspired and influenced in both content and style by the highly successful You Might Be a Redneck If . . . series of books published in recent years by actor/comedian Jeff Foxworthy. As a way of “tipping his hat” to Foxworthy’s comic genius and strong influence on his book, Garee dedicated the book to him.

“I’ve read every ‘Redneck’ book Foxworthy has written, and have listened to most of his tapes,” he said. “I found them—and still find them—hilarious! I love the guy! In my opinion, he’s a comic genius! I figured if I could make my book only half as good as his are it would be a tremendous success.”

 Origin of the book

When Garee launched the senior Web site he created and now hosts fulltime, www.seniormomentsonline.org, and because of his lifelong love of humor (particularly off-beat humor), he said he made sure that one of the site features would be based on humor. That feature is called “Lighter Side.”

“It’s easy to look at the world and the really dreadful things going on in it at any given point in time and fall into a deep, dark funk,” said Garee, who served ten years on active duty with the U.S. Marine Corps and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. “I believe the more we can laugh the less time we have to cry.”

Initially, “Lighter Side” featured mainly satirical humor written by Garee. Then, he said, he and his wife had a flash of inspiration.

“My wife, Lynda, who is a disabled, recovering stroke victim, by the way, actually came up with the idea for my new book,” Garee said. “She said, ‘You’re always picking up one of Foxworthy’s books and laughing your head off. Why not see if you can use that style with a book about growing older?’ So, that’s what I did.”

Book intended to be fast, fun read

As the title suggests, Garee uses 200 “one-liners,” 42 of which are illustrated with cartoons, to suggest ways to tell if you might, in fact, be getting old. The book is arranged in nine sections: Your Sex Life; At Home; Entertainment; Out ‘n’ About; Technology; On the Job; Autos & Other Moving Things; Your Health; and Style and Fashion.

“I have no illusions that my book is any kind of ‘great literature’,” Garee laughed. “I just had a lot of fun writing it, and I hope people will have a lot of fun reading it and sharing it with others. It’s meant to be a  fun, quick read, nothing more and nothing less. Of course it would also make a great, affordable gift for friends, relatives and colleagues who are approaching various age ‘milestones’, approaching retirement, and events of that nature.”

Author hopes book inspiration to other seniors

Garee, who is retired both from the insurance industry and on Social Security, said that he hopes that his writing his new book will serve as somewhat of an inspiration to other seniors who may find themselves “feeling useless” once they retire from the work force.

“While most seniors begin to look forward to the day they can leave the work force several years before that actually happens,” he said. “oftentimes, they discover that the idea  of having all this free time, with substantially reduced responsibilities, is far, far different from the reality of that situation.”

It sometimes doesn’t take all that long at all for some seniors to begin feeling as though they’re ready for the “scrap heap,” that their skills, knowledge and life experiences are no longer valued or appreciated in today’s society, Garee added.

“I was sixty-five-years-old when I began working on my book,” he said. “With all I had on me at the time—having to care for a disabled wife, essentially raising a three-year-old granddaughter by myself and trying to keep all the other ‘balls’ in the air—I could simply have said, ‘Oh, well, I just don’t have the time or the energy to take on a project like this. Besides, I’m just too old.’ But I wasn’t quite ready for the ‘scrap heap’ then— and I still am not!”

He added that he hopes his fellow seniors who still have substantial knowledge, skills and talents will adopt this same “can-do” attitude when it comes to doing something they’ve always wanted to do, but never seemed to have time to do it when they were still in the active work force.

“Until I hear the ‘thud’ of dirt being shoveled onto my coffin, I intend to stay in the game,” he laughed. “I hope most of my fellow seniors will do the same!”