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Jeff Foxworthy: Ever wonder what makes him laugh?

ATLANTA, GA – You probably already know that, over a long career, Jeff Foxworthy, stand-up comedian, TV star, prolific author and many, many more things, has made millions of people around the World laugh.

But did you ever wonder what makes Foxworthy himself laugh?

Well, we know  one person has accomplished that—Michael Garee, senior commentator, humorist and author of recently published humor book on aging, 200 Sure-Fire, Lead-Pipe-Cinch, No-Question-About-It Ways to Tell If . . . You Might Be Getting OLD! [Eloquent Books, 2008]

Here’s how Garee, 66, explains his recent experience with fellow Atlantan Foxworthy.

“I’ve been a big fan of Jeff Foxworthy’s comedy and writing for many, many years,” he said, “and I’ve always thought of him as decent, family-oriented guy.

"Of course I was also quite aware that that could merely have been a persona he has carefully cultivated over the years.

"Now, I know for certain that, not only is he a ‘class act,’ he’s also a ‘class guy.’ A stand-up comedian—and a great and very talented one—yes, but also very much a real stand-up guy too!”

“Last year I published my first humor book,” Garee added.

“And since my book was so strongly influenced by Foxworthy’s You Might Be a Redneck If . . . series of books, I dedicated it to him. I then thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if I could get him to review the book and tell me what he thought of it?”

Garee said he contacted Foxworthy through his (Foxworthy’s) New York City publisher, since, for obvious reasons, there was no local address available for the comedian.

“To be honest about it,” Garee said, “I thought the chances that Jeff would actually see my letter, let alone actually respond to it, were about as good as a snowball in you-know-where.”

Little did Garee know.

About three months later—literally out of the blue—Garee received a personal letter from Foxworthy telling him that he would be glad to review Garee’s new book.

“To say that you could have knocked me over with a feather would be a gross understatement,” Garee laughed.

“Here was a man—a famous celebrity—who stays about as busy as one can imagine, but he still took the time to write me, a longtime fan, completely unknown to him, a personal letter. Amazing!”

As requested, Garee sent Foxworthy a copy of his new book shortly after it was published, and true to his word, within a relatively short time, Foxworthy responded with a personal note.

“Get this,” Garee laughed, “Jeff begins his note with, ‘Sorry for the delay’! Here is a man who currently is working on two new books, creating a new animated series, helping a friend with a new movie, opening new restaurants, is heavily involved in charity work with Duke University Children’s Hospital in Durham, NC, which treats children with cancer, and hosts the popular TV series ‘Smarter than a 5^th grader,’ and he apologizes to me for making me ‘wait’ for his review of my book!”

Further underscoring how Foxworthy puts his own life into proper perspective, he told Garee in the personal note, “These are all just my second jobs. My first jobs are being a husband and a dad.”

What was Foxworthy’s reaction to Garee’s book?

“He said my book made him ‘laugh out loud, though far too many of the (one-liners in my book) hit way too close to home,’ since Foxworthy just turned 50 himself this year,” Garee said.

“Even if my book never becomes a tremendous commercial success, the fact that it made Jeff Foxworthy laugh, in my mind, will always make You Might Be Getting OLD! a tremendous success to me!”