Lewis Grizzard Is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself!

The author was convicted of a white-collar crime in 1992, sentenced to 250 hours of community service, and had to pay a $3,000 fine. The terms of his agreement with the DA's office read as follows: Since Mr. Curtis is skilled in the building trades, we suggest he works for Habitat For Humanity his entire sentence.

What happens when a Southern, conservative developer is convicted of a white-collar crime and forced to work with liberal, charitable volunteers building houses for the under-privileged? James T. Curtis answers this question in "Lewis Grizzard Is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself", a candid blend of memoir and political treatise that describes what happens when right-wing and left-wing ideologies collide amidst lumber, hammers, and nails. In the retelling of the events that occurred following his conviction in the late eighties, Curtis offers a daily log of the individuals he met and the incidents he experienced while performing the community service hours which he was assigned. However, his account is more than a simple glimpse into the operations of a charitable organization, for as Curtis becomes introduced to the liberal perceptions of many of the volunteers, his own philosophies surface. Immersed within the details of his weekend labor, Curtis offers commentary on many of the controversial issues of today's society: religion, equal rights, education, gun control, and the media to name a few. The result is a bold exhibition of political thought, and a longing for a return to the way the Old South was before liberal views frightened gentlemen from acting like gentlemen, and replaced the sugar in old-fashioned iced tea with artificial sweeteners. Curtis's ability to entwine brazen conviction and tong-and-cheek humor around a colorfully related chronicle of events makes for an account that liberals and conservatives alike are sure to enjoy.

James T. Curtis is a native of North Carolina and a true Southerner at heart. He readily admits that the only thing he doesn't like about his home state is the word "North" in front of Carolina. Curtis' love of the South, coupled with his hardy admiration for satire, set the stage for the views he introduces in "Lewis Grizzard Is Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Myself". When he is not writing, enjoying automobile racing, or contemplating the ways of the world through his humorous point of view, Curtis works as a self employed builder in Greensboro, NC. He is recently divorced, and has raised a daughter and a son.