Latest / Share Your Fire / Share Your Fire, Ep. 7 - Stories That Outlive Us (Lou Vickery)
Transcript
- John Verrico: Hey there and welcome to Share Your Fire. And boy, have I got an amazing guest for you today. I have to tell you, this guy, well, I'm not even gonna introduce him. I'm just gonna bring him in because he is just such a powerful individual. You're gonna love him. Let me bring in celebrating, recently celebrating the 46th anniversary of his 39th birthday. Let me bring it, Mr. Lou Vickery. Lou, how are you? Lou Vickery: Well, John, in my in my life there's only two kinds of days, good and better. And you know John Verrico: Ha ha I love it. Lou Vickery: hey, I'm just excited to be here. It's great to to be a part of your show. And you know, I tell everyone it's great to be anywhere at my age, but I'm just excited that we haven't this opportunity to visit. John Verrico: Well, you you're you're such a powerful and positive influence out there. and ever we have spoken a few times in the past and and I got to know you just a little bit, but I was always just so b inspired by your energy, you know, and kinda like Jack Benny, you just refuse to be older than thirty nine. I I get a kick out of that. Lou Vickery: Well well you know you know, John Jack and I both we never got past thirty-nine, so well is important. John Verrico: I I love it. I love it. Lou Vickery: I I will I want to share just something for older people and that and I think it's important. You know, two lessons I I have really learned. One of them I learned from COVID is the fact that COVID actually what saved my life according to the doctors were my tan legs. And when they did after twenty-two days in the hospital, and the doctor looked at me and they said, We're gonna let you go home, Mr. Vickery, and I want you to know those tan legs saved your life. And I said, My tan legs, and he was talking about all John Verrico: Hand legs. Lou Vickery: that tennis plan and activity that I'd been involved in. So I offered anyone, you stay active, just stay active. Find something that you enjoyed doing and do it and stay active. And I think that's vitally, vitally important. John Verrico: Now you play tennis pretty often. Lou Vickery: Yeah, I do. I I d I've I've cut down from four days to three days a week, so and I in between, you know, we'll get a chance to Jane and I get a chance to w to walk some and to spend some time together and that that's important. And another point I really would like to make is that John, we're not old. I'm talking about in my case. We're chronologically gifted and we should look at it that way, you know. John Verrico: I love it. Chronologi I'm writing that one down. Because it's true, not everyone has that gift. Lou Vickery: What's that John? I'm sorry. John Verrico: N not not everyone has that gift. And and so we should truly treasure it. Lou Vickery: No, you know, but going old is is really a state of mind in many ways. And I I think it's important we're gonna have some ailments. There are gonna be some things that just not always just right. But the big part of it is that if we just work our way through it, you know, I'm I'm off I I really believe we never quit learning. You know John Verrico: Absolutely. Lou Vickery: As we g as we age, our hide changes a little bit, right? It ages some. But that doesn't mean our spirit and our soul and our heart have to age. They can stay in continue to to look and to I c I guess John the best way to say it is that knowledge never grows old. John Verrico: I love it. You know, and that is gonna be kind of the theme of where we're gonna go with this conversation because of a recent project that you've just completed and you're getting ready to launch a book called Stories That Outlive Us. And we're gonna talk about that in just a moment. I just want to go back on something that you said when you say that your spirit, your soul, and your heart don't age. And that is that is is so amazingly true. And so many people I think get get hung up in the physical ailments or or just they they get into their mind that they hit a certain number, so they're old. And one of the favor one of my favorite quotes from my favorite all-time vaudevillian, George Burns, he said, You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. Lou Vickery: Yep. Amen. And that's right. And he's a prime example of a guy that, you know, lived way in his nineties and and John Verrico: he was over a hundred. Yeah. Lou Vickery: until a hundred, yeah. You know, John, my mother made it to ninety-nine and a half. And the the book that we want to share some time about today called Stories That Out Live Us, her story's in there. in nineteen twenty three, when she was born, she weighed, they estimated about two pounds. She was a preemie. She was John Verrico: wow. Lou Vickery: the sixteenth child born to my grandfather and grandmother, John Verrico: Ooh we Lou Vickery: all singles. And my grandfather was in his fifties, my grandmother was in her forties, and so Mommy, my mother was a preemie, and the the story is from two pounds to ninety-nine and a half years, you figure. And so it's a great story. John, I I just I'm just John, I'm busting John Verrico: Well, I'm looking forward I'm looking forward to reading it. I can't. Lou Vickery: at the seam to tell a baseball story. My d you know John Verrico: Well, that's what you know, that's where your your career started as as far as that I know. So yeah, let's talk Lou Vickery: Yeah. John Verrico: about it. Lou Vickery: Well I I s I right out of high school I signed a contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. and played in the Cardinal Organization for five seasons and got traded to the New York Yankees. But I was one of the seasons I was I was in Atlanta and and that was before the Braves came. was a farm club, other Cardinals, it was a triple A farm club and I was there at a very young age in fact. But one night it was my night to start the game. I was a starting pitcher, left hander, and I started the game and I didn't do very well. In fact, in the first inning, I didn't make it through the first inning. Now, I wrote a baseball book in 1995 called Answers to Baseball's Most Asked Questions. By the way, John, it's one of 27 books. So I and John Verrico: No. Lou Vickery: that book, there is a a statement in there or a question, what does it mean when you get knocked out of the box? That's a baseball term. And it means that the manager comes out during the course of the inning and takes you out of the game. And so that's what happened to me. I hadn't done very well, so I got knocked out of the box. Well I go down to the head to the dressing room, take a shower, my game is over with. So I and I had you in the old state of Atlanta, you had to walk past first base and then go down under the stands to the dressing room. I go, shower, change clothes, walk down to the end of the runway to check the scoreboard. And just as I got to the end of the runway, the only thing above ground is my head. And I hear the crack of the bat. Now that's when the ball meets the bat. Well the crack of the bat, and I turned to look, and there's a line drive foul ball coming right at me. And I John Verrico: no. Lou Vickery: couldn't get out of the way. Enough to I just did this a glass and it hit me right here. And down I went for the count. So a bad day just got worse, right? John Verrico: Whoa. Lou Vickery: The ball boy comes, no one knows I'm there. The ball boy comes out to retrieve the ball, and I'm laying out. They call an ambulance, they haul me over to Grady Hospital, and they found out over there what my mother already knew. I got a hard head. But John Verrico: Hard head. Lou Vickery: the interesting thing was the next morning a sports page of the Atlanta Constitution read, victory knocked out twice. Now, the John Verrico: ho ho ho. Lou Vickery: best part was a subheading. X-rays of heads show nothing. So I have I've gotten a lot of mileage out of that through the years, John. John Verrico: my god, that's great. That is great. You know, I I think we've got something in common about the hard head thing. I I I did something stupid in my early twenties and decided to do cliff diving. And and I I dove off a forty foot cliff and I found a boulder Lou Vickery: Well, you know Yeah. John Verrico: five feet under the surface. And my my father said to me, Son, Lou Vickery: Yeah. John Verrico: I'm so glad of all the things you've got a hard head Lou Vickery: Yeah, that's right. Amen. You know, J John, I I had a nine year career, I ended up hurting my shoulder and my career w actually was cut short. But John Verrico: Now you were a pitcher, right? Lou Vickery: no, that's the way it is sometime in life. You know, things are going along really good, something happens. You know, we have a decision. I think the easiest thing in life to do is to quit. There's it takes no talent to be a quitter. You know, just to hang it up and And go on to what's next. And I think after I had the COVID situation and I was released from hospital, I made a my decision that I was gonna go full throttle. How much time that the Lord was gonna allow me to be here, I was gonna make the best of it. And now with a book that which you are part of and we're gonna talk about, I that is seventh book in six years. So I'm doing a book a year. I finished this one. John Verrico: Seven books in six years. Lou Vickery: And then hopefully tomorrow, well it it I'm starting already I'm already in the midst of a of actually two more books. So I I I I like to do that because I don't get bored that way, you know. John Verrico: Now you've done you said twenty seven books so far. Lou Vickery: Twenty seven of them. You know what? You live long enough you can do that. Think about it. I I've my first book was published in 1980. It was entitled The I Company, the one letter word I. We all run a company, John. And how we run that company really just like any corporation, you've got to do the right kind of things to make it all work. You know, I remember sitting on a plane by the chairman of the board of Citicorp. And I was he had his schedule laid out and I looked and I said, Sir, do you ever spend any time at home? And he says, very John Verrico: Yeah. Lou Vickery: little. But I said, Well, how about you his wife would meet him at certain places. But you know, he made a statement, he says, you know, in our business, if we're right 51% of the time, we're ahead of the game. Now, I think in life we got chance to be better than that. But we are going to run into some hurdles. And man, I've had my share of too. So, you know, we we make the best of it, don't we? John Verrico: Yeah, yeah. And I mean, I mean, for so many people, when you had your shoulder injury and it ruined your baseball career, you know, you pivoted and you went in a whole other direction. instead of just giving up, like you said, you know, it doesn't take any energy to be a quitter. Where did Lou Vickery: Yeah. John Verrico: you go from there and and what made you you know, what made you decide to choose your next your next step? Because you went completely in a whole other direction. So I'd like to talk just briefly about that. Lou Vickery: Well, you know, John Actor when I was playing ball, I I started taking notes, making notes about a novel. I have to share this now 'cause this is I mean, this is so close to my heart, I have to share it, all right. John Verrico: I want you to share it. That's what you're here for. Lou Vickery: I wrote I wrote a book twenty-five years ago. Whi well in fact it was released twenty-six years ago, and it was a story that I grew up with in the South. See, I grew up in the segregation era in a small s southern town in South Alabama, and segregation was rampant. And so I wrote a story about two kids growing up. They were best friends in the early 50s. And one is black and one is white. And the story lines are about what they enjoy doing together on a farm. But eventually obviously the culture caught up with them as they grew older. But this there was a stretch there of four or five years that man, they it's like a Huckleberry Finn chok, you know, Tom Sawyer type book. And they just the things they did together, getting into stuff, exploring. It's it's it's a it's a really good read. The reason I share with you after this is now a New York publisher has picked up the book and next March. March on the 9th, they're going to release it worldwide, and I am so excited because. John Verrico: fantastic. Lou Vickery: I think, John, this is a story that can touch hearts and touch lives. It it it's it it covers all the emotion. Every I mean, people have told me, Lou, I went from laughing to tears back to laughter. But it has that kind of emotional makeup to it. But the fic the the real fact is the title of the book is Touch of Gray. And John, the title comes from the fact when you take black and you take white and you put it together, you have gray. And that's what we should be. We should be a nation of people who are moving toward the center, toward each other, not away from each other. John Verrico: Yeah, yeah, thank you. Hallelujah. So true. And you know, that was something that was something my father taught me too. You know, you talk about learning something every day. My father was real adamant about learn something new every day. And I'll go into that a little more later. But one of the things that he taught us, he said, you know, don't say you don't like something or you don't want to do something unless you've tried doing it. Don't say you don't like that food unless you tasted it. But more importantly, don't say you don't like that person. Lou Vickery: Yeah. John Verrico: Until you've given them a chance. And it doesn't make a difference what color they are, what background they are. Give everyone a chance because we all have something in common. And we should look at what's in com what we have in common with each other instead of our differences. Once we are once we've connect through our commonalities, we can celebrate our differences because everybody brings some new talent and new perspective to the table. And man, that is so powerful. And I think that's where your book is coming from too. Lou Vickery: Yeah, I'm I as you John Verrico: And I can't wait to see this. Lou Vickery: can tell I'm really excited about it. And I asked in the last chapter of the book, the little black boy's name is Tater. And Tater's grown up and become a a doctor and and he gives a talk. But one of the questions he asks in that talk is, Tell me, what is the color of love? What is the color of love? We all should be understand that the color of love is gray. Coming together. And that's that's where I'm coming from. So I've you know, I I can tell you I'm excited. I get excited about every book. We is it time for us to tell you a little bit about the book that you're in? John Verrico: About the about the new book, yeah, because this is this is real near well it's near and dear to my heart too. But this one in particular look at that. He's n no, it's perfect. It looks great. It's called Stories Lou Vickery: Well let's let's let's just take a look. I don't know. I hope it's not upside down for you. This the title of it is Stories That Out Live Us. There are 42 authors in this book and 46 stories. You have a couple stories. I ended up doing a couple stories, so but I the first story is of a tribute that you did was is a tribute to your wife. And and I thought that we had no I mean there were no guidelines. We just wanted people to write something from their heart. And we've we have five miracles in there. Three of them are are actually people from my family. I had a sister John run over by a car. A vehicle runs over her body. both rear axle and front axle and she lives. She's now been alive twenty-two years since that accident. And a blessing. But anyway, there are stories of miracles. There are people one one one story from a guy who spent time in prison, now he's a minister, as a great transformation in his life. there's author Ash, the great tennis player, Jimmy Parker, who is a great amateur player in his own right. He and Arthur grew up together, so he writes a story about Arthur Ash. It just goes on and on. And Maun Janie is what she went through with surgery two years ago, next next month, she will she had surgery where they actually took her intestines out, set them outside of her body to close a wound because They had made a mistake in surgery and punctured her A.E. order. And you can imagine what might have transpired there. She came within two pints of blood and bleeding out. So we have a broad array of stories. As I said, there are 46 of them. And i it just I think is you sit and read, it's not the kind of book you read one sitting. It's not geared that way, but you pick a story, hey I wanna I wanna read this story, I'd like to to do that, do this. And that's the the purpose of the book is to provide first people an opportunity to do tell a story, and second for people that wanna read it to be really blessed by some stuff that I think can make a difference in their life. John Verrico: You know, Lou, what inspired me about this whole book and the idea behind it is that there are so many stories that we have in our lives, things that we've experienced that if we don't share them, they get lost. And I know how many times I wish I would have spent more time with my grandparents and my great aunts and uncles, and even my great grandfather who I was blessed to still have in my life early on. And if I would have only shared you had the opportunity to hear their stories so they wouldn't be lost. I think the most th the true death is when nobody remembers you or your stories get lost. And so it it is so important for us to preserve these memories, these special moments in our life, especially ones that well, they're special to us, but they also have maybe something that somebody else can get out of it. Now, when you set out and and reached out to folks and say, hey I'm doing this book called Stories That Out Live Us. No guidelines. Just tell us the stories that you want to to kind of be out there in perpetuity. I thought that was just amazing because you didn't give pe you didn't force people to think in a certain direction. You just said, what is it that you want out there to be remembered? And I just love where that's going. Lou Vickery: Well, I tell you it it no, it's been a blessing for me. It it was it in the way you know, it it was Tough in a sense that making sure, 'cause I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what to expect from an editing standpoint, grammar, that type of thing. But we we hired some good people, we had some opportunities, I think, to to do some quality editing. Not much as I expected, though, John. I think the people that wrote the stories did a great job of editing it their own stories. You have written before, so you could tell that it was relatively easy. from your standpoint. John Verrico: Ha ha. Lou Vickery: But I I I am really excited John Verrico: Well thank you. That's good. Lou Vickery: about the release of this book, the launch of it, and seeing what what transpires. John Verrico: And just putting this out there for folks, we are recording this on the thirty first of August. The book officially launches stories that outlive us, officially launches tomorrow on September first, twenty twenty six. I'm putting that out there because this this story will outlive us, Lou. This is gonna be out there in perpetuity on the internet. So I want people to be able to to put things in time perspective, but you want to get out there and and get a copy of Stories That Outlive Us. Lou Vickery: W yeah. Well John, we've I've had some people well Lou are you gonna do an encore? And well we may, but let's let this one settle in and and enjoy it first, right? John Verrico: Yeah, absolutely. What was your inspiration for doing this? What gave you the idea to to do this particular type of a book? Because it's not what you've normally done. Lou Vickery: No, it's not. I think Janie's story kinda set the tone, that the fact that what she went through and and in fact I want to brag a bit because the s the the picture on the front of the book she drew that. John Verrico: She drew it. Lou Vickery: Yeah. So we not only had her participate as a as a co-author, but she actually do and the details in that picture is unbelievable. It it now do you John Verrico: Yeah, she's quite talented. Lou Vickery: see the line across that that's Amazon's way of telling me I can't sell this book. This is this is an John Verrico: Ha ha ha Lou Vickery: author's copy, so but if we we remove that that strip you can see even get a better view of the the artistry and the detail. John Verrico: Well, for people who are only listening to this audibly, would you describe what that picture is of? Lou Vickery: Yeah, the picture in fact what really c turned me on to use that picture because she had titled it Remember When. Well Remember When just choked right in with Stories Out Live Us, but it's actually on an old barn with a wagon. You know, I I one of my favorite terms is Dad gun, that thing went the way of the horse and buggy. You know, it's over with, it's done, John Verrico: Ha ha ha. Lou Vickery: right? So but it's then there's an old barbed wire John Verrico: Now now wait a minute. I live near Lancaster, Pennsylvania where there's a lot of Amish. There's still a lot of horse and buggies here. Lou Vickery: Yeah, it's well, it's but it for those that are just listening, it is a a picture, detailed picture of a barn, an old wagon sitting in front of it, an old barbed wire fence. Reminding me so much of the my days in on a farm, you know, so that but I am again, John, very excited about the people who took time to to write a story, you know, I I'm stopping it because it it c stuff keeps popping in my mind about Moa, all these great stories. One of the stories in there is about Charles Barclay. The his coach in college is is a very dear friend of mine. In fact we've written two books together. Coach Sonny Smith and Coach Sonny almost ran Charles Barclay off when they were in Auburn. In fact he had told his sisters, Coach, send him home. He's lazy. He's And and it turned Charles career around after that incident and it just made a a difference in the hi the way he pr approached practice and the game and so forth and used his talent. Then he goes on to the in NBA and obviously becomes a all pro and and a Hall of Famer. But it didn't start out exactly that way that way for him. So the very interesting story by Coach Smith in here. John Verrico: You know, there are so many people in life that we look at as being super successful in their fields, whatever that field might be, whether it's business or or sports or or the entertainment arts, whatever. And how many of those people went through time and time again, people telling them no, people telling them you're not good enough, you're not pretty enough, you're not whatever enough, you know, how many people turned down Marilyn Monroe before she finally got her first break? You know. Lou Vickery: Yeah. John Verrico: How many people turned there were so many, so many folks like that who failed time and time again. Failure is not the end of things. And we've we've know that. Just like just like your your injury in baseball was not the end of things for you. It was the end of a particular chapter. But it wasn't the end of the story. Lou Vickery: John, I I'm glad you mentioned that because you know it's so important to understand that life has many, many unusual terms. As I call it, we have to make the best of the detours along the road of life. We're going to have detours. John Verrico: wow, love it. Lou Vickery: There are going to be stop signs, there's going to be potholes. But the fact of the matter is, and you hit the nail on the head, there's no such thing as failure unless you quit. If you just give up and quit, yes. But if you don't do that, if you keep keep just sticking your nose in the middle of it, I like to call let's go full throttle. Let's go, let's do it full throttle and enjoy it while we're doing it, right? And that's so, so important. You know, I don't know how much time the good Lord's gonna leave me here, but I can promise you this, John. As long as I can draw a breath, I'm gonna keep, I'm gonna just keep doing my thing. And not my thing right now is sharing life. The my my website is called A Wise Word. Wiseword.com, you can find information about all my books there that are still in print. I think there are 12 books still in print. And it's all kinds, real variety. You know, one of the things that I've written about is Native Americans. My grandmother was a Native American on my dad's side, and so we have a federally recognized Indian tribe right where I live, or where I grew up. And so basically Basically, we can spend some time if you like history. It's called the rise of the port span of Creek Indies is one. The other one is, I was asked by the Alabama Historical Society to redo it and make it for the whole state of Alabama. So it's called the Alabama Creek Indings. John Verrico: Wow, I love it. I love it. My wife is Native American also. But but she she never had a chance to really explore her heritage. Her parents died young and so she never really got a an op and didn't have anybody else in extended family in her family. So unfortunately she never got a chance to really appreciate her tribal connections. But I think it's it's something that l like everything else, you know, there are there are things about us that we need to treasure. Lou Vickery: Amen. Well th the important question I think we all should ask ourselves is if today was the last day that I'm to live, what would I do? And I think if we approach it each day at a time and I think it becomes more co I become more cognizant of that with as you get more chronologically gifted. And John Verrico: Ha ha. Lou Vickery: I think it's important to understand that Life goes on and we need to go on with life. John Verrico: wow. That's quotable right there. Life goes on and we need to get on with life. I love it. Lou, I want to thank you for taking the time. I can't believe we're almost out of time already. but I really, really appreciate your taking the time to join me on Share Your Fire and sharing your fire and your passion with us. And I'm especially excited about tomorrow's launch of the stories that outlive us. Lou Vickery: Yeah. John will and let me remind folks the book will be at Amazon. So if somebody has an interest and we've priced it reasonably at fifteen ninety nine. We want as many people as possibly can to be a purchaser of the book and read it. So it's not like it's saddle sight financially, okay? John Verrico: What I will do is is it up on Amazon now for pre order yet or no? Lou Vickery: And that was par me. John Verrico: Is it on Amazon for pre order? Lou Vickery: Yeah, Amazon to to be there available tum on September first and thereafter, okay? And John Verrico: Okay. Then what I will do is I will post a link to it with the show notes. Lou Vickery: Very good. John, it's been a blessing and a pleasure, my man. Can I leave a John Verrico: Always, always a pleasure talking with you. Lou Vickery: little motto with you? John Verrico: Go ahead. Lou Vickery: Keep a smile on your face, keep happiness in your heart, keep optimism on your tongue, and you'll be a winner wherever you go. John Verrico: I love it. What a great way to wrap up the show. Lou, thank you so much for joining us today. And we will we will see you soon. Folks, keep listening to Share Your Fire. There are people out there like Lou that you need to meet. Don't don't isolate yourself. Get out there, meet people. Don't look at their their color, their age, their size, or anything about them other than the fact that they are a fellow human being. And they deserve that your your time, your energy, everybody matters and we all have an inner passion and an inner fire and that needs to be shared. Lou, thank you again.