For many years friends and family members have encouraged me to write my memoir. They felt that I had experienced a series of events in my long life that would be of interest to others. Three years ago, at age 84, I decided to take the plunge. It was a delightful experience from the get-go. After going through more than 50 possible titles for the memoir, the decision was: Listen Up: Stories of Pearl Harbor, Vietnam, the Pentagon, CNN and Beyond.
First and foremost, among these joys was contacting friends from long ago. The reaction to my phone calls was universally positive. Everyone I contacted seemed delighted that I called. They were willing to share their memories of events of past events that I raised with them. Even more importantly, they reminded me of stories I had long forgotten. If I had not decided to do the research, I might never had talked to them —an opportunity not to be lost.
The second area of delight was my close interaction, for two years, with my wife, Connor, and my daughter, Serena. Both made major contributions to the research, writing, editing and publishing of Listen Up. Every few days, Connor, would edit, with a red pen, two or three pages of manuscript. Connor, a graduate of the University of Georgia with a major in English, had carefully edited my previous books. Her great talent is helping turn a rough draft into polished English. Just as importantly she knew how to produce a book that would not be boring and that would capture the attention of a wide audience.
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For me, one of the real surprises in this grand enterprise was the hundreds of helpful suggestions I received from Serena. For many months, I talked to her on the phone almost every day. She also helped to maximize the value of Google photos and Google docs. I had had no previous experience with these platforms.
A third area of joy was the reactions that Connor, Serena and I have received from those who have read the book. Here are two examples from the amazon.com web site.
“We read “Listen Up” out loud over several nights in our family room and thoroughly enjoyed the stories of General Perry’s life journey. His recounting of the attack on Pearl Harbor is both emotionally wrenching and insightful. Great photos throughout. Highly recommended to those interested in reading about a firsthand account of what it means to be a lifelong leader.”
“LISTEN UP goes way beyond a personal story — it is about leadership, compassion and successful missions. Take time to read it carefully, study Perry Smith’s successes and failures to learn the lessons of life and happiness. I plan to give copies to all of our grandkids as a guide to making the world a better place by respecting elders and looking to help the next generation.”
In summary, I recommend that all who have passed a 70th birthday: write down your stories. You will make lots of people happy, including yourselves. Publishing your stories is not necessary—20 or 30 pages would be a great start. Once you write them down, you may find there are more to tell.
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If you are not inclined to write down your stories, another option works quite well. Sit in front of a camera and tell your stories. Augusta’s first-rate videographer, Mark Albertin, is an expert in asking questions and follow-up questions which will help you remember and explain your experiences. The result will be an edited disc or a thumb drive which you can hand down to kids, to grandkids and great-grandkids. Mark can be reached at scrapbookvideo2293@gmail.com.
By the way, signed copies of Listen Up are on sale at a discount at the Augusta Museum of History. The book can also be purchased from amazon.com. The kindle version is priced at $4.95. All proceeds from book sales go to the Dyess Symposium, which, each year, honors Connor’s father, Marine Lt. Col. Jimmie Dyess. Jimmie Dyess is the only person to receive America’s two highest awards for heroism, the Medal of Honor and the Carnegie Medal. He also was an Eagle Scout and a college marksman who received All American honors.
Perry Smith’s email address is genpsmith@aol.com. He welcomes comments on and criticisms of his articles and books.
