The Gravesite

 

Just Say Yes: Memoirs of a Geezer

The “Yes” part is the philosophy of life which took him from three shows a night as comedian “Deadpan Digger Graves” in a traveling comedy band to a Nixon White House conference; from playing for dances in the Porterville Elks Club to parties for Judy Garland and John Wayne; from a college radio major to a TV network executive, producer, and executive producer of Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock; and from 35 years in music, broadcasting, and film to Professor Emeritus of Mass Communication at the University of Central Missouri.

The “Memoirs” part is all the people and events which made the trip so amazing, from Errol Flynn in a shower to Bertrand Russell in his hilltop home in Wales; from tea with Katharine Hepburn in her Beverly Hills home to Carol Channing on his bicycle handlebars; from accompanying Jimmie Durante and Rosemary Clooney to drifting for two weeks through the Grand Canyon in a raft.

Mixed up in all this is an assortment of philosophical observations, humorousperceptions, and often audacious suggestions.

NOW AVAILABLE ON AUDIO CD as a 3 CD Set ! Read by the author.
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Animal Verses for Grown-Up Children

What is Modern Poetry? "A portrayal of picturesque, perceptive, and often passionate, pious, or philosophical prose, which is sometimes picaresque, pontificating, paradoxical, patriotic, prurient, and even puerile – but positioned with patently peculiar personalized phraseology and punctuation on a piece of paper for possible publication. "
– A. John Graves, poet

A unique, entertaining, twisted, fun collection of verses, guaranteed to make you chuckle. Combine them with saucy, brightly colored animal caricatures, and you'll want to share this unique collection of poetry and art with all your friends and family. It's a true collectible!

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Where in the World is Home

Well, for me it’s a cozy hilltop house with lots of windows, overlooking a small lake and the majestic San Juan Mountain Range in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. And I’ve found my girl--my lovely wife, Ann.

This was not your usual recording process--no studio, no over-dubbing, no erasing bad notes and meticulously replacing them, and no engineer making hand signals behind a glass window.
Once or twice a week my friend and colleague, Paul Roberts, would drop by for a half hour with his portable equipment and record three or four songs, played on my 55 year old Hamilton studio upright in our living room. The songs were done in one take each.

The music includes six original songs, with three from my one act musical, An Empty Bench: Where in the World is Home?, The Holdout, and One Heart for Rent, With Option to Buy. The other three were improvised while we recorded, with the remaining songs being selected from the beginnings of the Golden Age of Music (prior to 1923).