There's a great big world beyond the outfield fence. In his first book, True Gris, Ed Grisamore takes you not only between the white lines but also over the wall.Using the rich detail and warm humor that has made him a popular and well-respected columnist for The Macon Telegraph, Grisamore touches all the bases -- from fatherhood to fishing to toe floss to finding your heart. Let's remember that our blessings count more than the score of some game, he writes.True Gris is your ticket to many wonderful places, and you'll have the best seat in the house. You'll travel to Jackie Robinson's birthplace, down the hill with an Olympic bobsledder, and into a crime-ridden housing project in New Orleans. You'll take a trip to Santa's lap, watch the University of Georgia bulldog mascot put on his game face, and you'll get the view from a hearse.Grisamore will touch your heart with pieces of his own. In Fathers Need Guardian Angels he writes about his three-year-old son crashing his dad's truck into a tree in the backyard. In the poignant Being There Can Make a Difference he talks about mentoring a young boy from a single-parent family. He writes about finding his doll named Pearl tucked away in a drawer and hits an emotional home run with Let the Tears Flow, the Braves are Champs.You'll meet a Macon man who puts clever sayings on the sign outside his sandwich shop. You'll be introduced to Jim Tyler and Herman Strickland, who teach us that it's not how old you are but how you are old. You'll learn about the 12-year-old batboy who once pinch-hit in a minor-league game and made baseball history. In Life on the Mourning Bench, you'll find out why men simply hate to shop withwomen.He will tickle your funny bone with Questions in Search of Answers and the tale/tail of a fish that tried to eat a golf ball -- a column that generated so much national interest it was mentioned on NBC's Today show.True Gris will carry you from the joys of childhood to the simple pleasures of growing old. Words are the most important tools we have here on earth, Grisamore writes. What we say, what we write, and what we read determine who we are and what we become.

True Gris: The Best of Ed Grisamore

History

Grisamore, Ed

Americas

Mercer Univ Pr

Looks at the history of the colorful professional hockey team located in Macon, Georgia

Once upon a Whoopee: A Town, a Team, a Song, a Dream

Buckley, Bill

When he was a teenager, Ed Grisamore was convinced his father would never achieve true happiness until had moved every tree and shrub on the property at least twice. Not only did his father instill in him a strong work ethic, he set high standards for the job. "In my haste to finish, I sometimes would try to get by with the least amount of effort,'' writes Grisamore, an award-winning columnist with the Macon Telegraph. "My holes would be too shallow or not wide enough to accommodate the tree's roots.'' Taking the title from his dad's sage advice, Grisamore's seventh book, Never Put a 10-Dollar Tree in a 10-Cent Hole, pays tribute to everything from fatherhood to everyday heroes, good sports and Good Samaritans in a collection of more than 100 newspaper columns and essays. He puts a human face on every story and his themes cover every slice of life from faith, food, animals, music, school, travel, children, veterans and the wisdom of the generations.

Never Put a Ten-Dollar Tree in a Ten-Cent Hole... and Other Stories

Literature & Fiction

Essays & Correspondence

Mercer University Press

For almost seventy-five years, one of Macon s most famous eating establishments, Nu-Way, has intentionally misspelled the word W-E-I-N-E-R on its marquee. Thanks to a sign-maker misplacing those vowels in 1937, the restaurant has had a conversation piece on the plate along with its legendary hot dogs. James Mallis immigrated to Macon from Greece and opened the city s first fast-food restaurant on historic Cotton Avenue in 1916. Nu-Way is now the second-oldest hot dog stand in America, just a month shy of Nathan s on Coney Island in New York. In his eighth book, There Is More than One Way to Spell Wiener, Macon newspaper columnist Ed Grisamore tells the amazing story of how Nu-Way has become a cultural and culinary icon. Nu-Way is part of the fabric of Macon, Georgia. Nearly everyone in town has a Nu-Way story. When people move away, Nu-Way is one of the first places they visit when they come back home. One woman drove almost 500 miles and ordered 150 to go. But it s not just about the food. It s nostalgic. It s a melting pot of Macon. To go downtown for a hot dog at noon is to see the common denominator of businessmen in three-piece suits sharing the same lunch counter with blue-collar workers and street people. The book covers the generations of Macon families that have worked at Nu-Way, captures the passion of its loyal customers and tells the story of how the Norman Rockwell-like logo was painted by a former Macon fire chief. Even Oprah Winfrey dropped by for a chili dog and a Diet Coke on a visit to Macon in 2007 . Grisamore has been known to satisfy his cravings for slaw dogs (voted No. 1 in the nation by The New York Times) several times each week.

There Is More Than One Way to Spell Wiener: The Story of Nu-Way

Business & Money

Biography & History

The first word Ed Grisamore ever said was "boat." He doesn't remember saying it. That's just what he was told. His grandfather had a boat on a small pond in Hawkinsville. 
The first word he ever learned to spell was "Pepper." It was on the blackboard in Mrs. John's first-grade classroom at Harwell Elementary in LaGrange. 
Since then, words have shaped his life. He has written them. He has spoken them. He has read them. And, in his career as a columnist for The Telegraph in Macon, Ga., he has shared them with a loyal readership. 
In Ed's fourth book, "Smack Dab in Dog Crossing," he has assembled a collection of columns that will make you laugh, cry, think and feel. Ed is one of those writers who believes there is a story waiting for him around every bend in the road. That's why he has been referred to as the "Charles Kuralt of Middle Georgia." 
Hang around Ed for a while, and you'll meet preachers, teachers and assorted creatures. You'll travel to a few places you've never been or even heard of — from Mauk to Musella, from Blount to Eudora and from Dry Branch to, of course, Dog Crossing. 
It's all here, from a story about a former Miss America to a homeless man who roams Macon‘s downtown streets. The legend of Hogzilla. The Shake ‘N Bake twins. The lady who has a museum with Elvis' wart and toenail. The preacher who preaches from a casket. Macon's most famous caveman. And the lowdown on outhouses. 
If you're a fan of Ed Grisamore's columns, then you've been anxiously waiting for his third collection of columns. If you are new to his writing, then you're in for a treat.

Smack Dab in Dog Crossing

Indigo Custom Publishing