Marshall Ramsey

I interviewed Bill Ferris yesterday. He’s an amazing man who has had an amazing career being the storyteller of storytellers. He grew up on a farm southeast of Vicksburg and has been honored internationally for his work as an author, educator and folklorist. What struck me the most about him was his interest in whomever he was talking to; he has a real gift of connecting with people. That’s a big reason why he has been successful. He was able to talk to people who would have probably walked past most of us. He looked for stories and then told them. And he’s still doing that.

My only regret about the interview is that I we only had a half hour. I could have talked to him all day.

One of the real blessings of doing the Conversations TV show is that it has allowed me to hear the stories of people from all walks of life. It’s like being able to read dozens of biographies, except you actually get face time with the subject.

Everyone has a story. We just need to slow down for a minute to listen. Even if it’s not that interesting, it still makes us grow a little bit.

My friend Katie Eubanks wrote a great list of Valentine’s Day movies (check out clarionledger.com). So I figured I’d add a few from the perspective of a long-time married guy.

1. Empire Strikes Back.

Leia: “I love you.”
Han: “I know.”

Completely ad-libbed and the moment Leia avoided hooking up with her brother.

2. Titanic

Financially challenged Jack gets wealthy Rose to pose nekkid — but Rose won’t return the favor by moving over on the floating door. Jack turns into a popsicle. Rose throws big-ass diamond into the sea. The end. Her heart will go on.

3. Casablanca.

Bogie and Bergman says it all. Don’t believe me? “Of all the gin joints in the all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.”

4. Splash.

Tom Hanks falls for mermaid Daryl Hannah even though he has a seafood allergy.

5. Castaway

Another Tom Hanks classic. Forget Chuck’s undying love for Kelly and how it got it him through being stranded Gilligan style. Oh now — Chuck and Wilson the Volleyball is the best onscreen relationship of all time.

6. Jaws.

Shark sees man. Shark pursues man. Shark gets man in the end. (Man needed bigger boat.) Bruce and Captain Quint forever.

7. It’s a Wonderful Life

George Bailey and Mary. “You look older without your clothes on.” And she still married him. True love.

8. The Shining

I’ve met several married couples who get along like Jack and Wendy.

9. Top Gun.
Forget When Harry Met Sally. Meg Ryan’s heart will belong to Goose forever. RIP Goose.

10. Doc Hollywood

Mainly because it was the first date when I met my wife.

Honorable Mention:

Gone With The Wind

Vivien Leigh kissed Clark Gable even though he supposedly had horrible halitosis. Frankly my dear, she gave a damn.

I write about the 4 a.m. Wake-Up Club on the days I work out — and let me tell you a little secret: I loathe getting up at 4 a.m. (3:50 most days). But I do it because my boot camp starts at 5 on the dot and I usually leave the house at 4:30 a.m. I do it because that’s when I can get my workout in and still get home in time to help get Amy and the boys get out the door on time. I do it because I know that’s the one time I can get an intense workout in. While most the world sleeps, I’m pushing myself to the edge of vomit.

I’ll be honest with you — I’m tired. My lunch gets eaten by 9 a.m. and I’m ready to sleep by 3 p.m.

Coach Paul’s drill was the last drill of the day for Line 1 today. We had done quite a bit of running (I burned 853 calories today) and by the time we made it to him, we were tired. There were five cones and we did short sprints, shuffles, backwards runs and karaoke (crossing legs over as we move backwards) pretty much nonstop. Then at the end, we had a sprint to the 50 and back twice.

He said to us as we were gasping for breath, “It’s how you perform while you’re tired that matters. That’s when you become successful.”

He’s right. When everyone else is tired, you’re working. Yes, you’re tired, too. But you have a goal, a dream and a mission to reach. That’s your caffeine. That’s what gets you out of bed at 4 a.m. like an idiot.

Now if you will excuse me, it’s 9:10 a.m. I have to go eat my lunch.

I was lying on my back on the turf as the rain fell into my face. I could hear it hitting the aluminum stands. The storms were off in the distance but the rain had started to fall. Most people would think I was an idiot. And to be honest, I thought I was an idiot at that particular moment. But I kept doing my sit-ups while holding the 12 pound weight. It was at the end of the hour and my heart had been beating over 160 beats a minute for the whole time. I thought about the health problems my parents and grandparents have/had. I thought about my nine-year-old. He needs a daddy. I did another sit-up and thought about my future. One more and I thought about my present. I thought about all the uncertainty I’ve faced for nearly a decade now. I thought of the stress I’ve been under — and that my family has faced. I thought of the moments that have made me angry. I thought of the moments my wife was upset. Pain pushed me off the turf as I did another sit-up. Rain fell into my eyes, making them sting. I thought of the liars. The people who cheated me and hurt my family. I did another sit-up. And then I thought about the person whose responsibility all of that was. He was lying on the turf getting rain in his face. He was overcoming obstacles and fighting through pain. I did another sit-up and thought about what personal responsibility really means. My stomach burned as the truth caused my heart to beat harder. I made sure I did my exercises properly. Because that’s where it starts. All of the challenges in life are on me. I must train to overcome them, not find blame. I must be strong for my wife and my children. I was on the turf, but I wasn’t staying there.

That’s why I workout in the morning. That’s why I train.

I was watching the Budweiser commercial last night; you know — the one that caused so many people to get so upset they were willing to boycott Budweiser beer (I do because I am not a particular fan of Bud and Bud Light, but I digress). The commercial seemed fairly benign — a guy comes over here from Germany, brews beer and makes a corporation that makes a product that helps Atlanta fans forget last night.
Bottom line, I didn’t get offended. I thought it was an OK commercial. I like the American Dream. Even if it does include Bud Light. (All the kegs in college were Bud Light — I just kind of got tired of it).

But I really seldom do get offended. I do get mad occasionally — I am a Ramsey after all. But I try not to allow something as unimportant as a commercial to unsettle me that much. Or a ballgame (well, maybe temporarily). This isn’t even a post about immigration. It’s just a reminder that we only have so much energy. And we have the God-given choice (free will) of choosing how to spend that energy. If you want to spend it being pissed off at a commercial that you feel like disagrees with you, that’s your choice. I prefer to be mad a other things — like not being able to find socks this morning and the ridiculousness of the Water Works Curve during rush hour.

We have the power to control how people and things make us feel. It’s something worthy of remembering.

Let me start this by stating this: I am not a New England Patriots fan. Nor am I a Tom Brady fan. I have the same issues with them as I do with Barry Bonds — the whole asterisk thing. Last night was like Luke missing and the Death Star blowing up Yavin 4. It’s hard to pull for the Empire. That said, I think last night was a darn good lesson for all of us:

Don’t quit until it is over.

I have respect for the New England Patriots and Tom Brady for what they did last night. They could have laid down at halftime. They could have quit and said, “Well maybe next year.” They didn’t. They fought back and got the ring.

Football is a great metaphor for life (no, not that life is a series of concussions). You take the opportunity you are given and you fight every single moment you have to fight.

As an Atlanta native, I feel for the Falcons. Now it is their turn to respond and fight back for next year.

The Mississippi Press Association Education Foundation roast of yours truly was a success last night. I was roasted. They had a big crowd (at least 1.5 million). And lots of money was raised. Which, of course, was the point. The roast will be on YouTube soon enough and I’ll post a link when it is — if you’re so inclined to invest that much of your life watching it.

The best part? Standing in the kitchen this morning and listening to my kids recite their favorite jokes from the night. And there were some funny ones.

A few of notes:

Governor Bryant popped in and was actually pretty funny. He showed his cartoons about me — if you remember Mr. Bill from SNL, I was Mr. Bill. I’ve drawn a lot of cartoons that have pissed him off this year, so I’m sure the whole thing was cathartic for him.

Rep. Steve Holland was hilarious (not a surprise). I guess a guy who works with death everyday has learned it really doesn’t matter what you say because he really doesn’t give a damn. I told him that since he was in the minority party now, the only people who’d listen to him were his customers (he’s a mortician).

David Hampton, who was my editor for 15 years, sang a version of Rocky Top with lyrics about me. It was not only creative, it was hilarious.

Sec. of State Delbert Hosemann’s routine threw down some serious smack and made me laugh. He drew special cartoons poking fun at everything from my time at SuperTalk, to my early career to the fact that my cousin is successful and I have $25,000 on my credit card (I don’t). He said that the first time he saw me running, he thought I was walking my dog (yes, I am that slow).

Paul Lacoste let the crowd know what kind of athlete I truly am. I mentioned I threw up several times each workout and that I had the body of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (he’s not exactly wrong there). I could only give him so much crap back — he does have the ability to make me do 1000000 burpees.

Sid Salter, who is as good at one-liners as anyone in the state, emceed and did a great slideshow of what his cartoons would look like.

I walked out of there properly roasted.

I want to thank the Mississippi Press Association for the honor. And I want to thank everyone who attended last night. After 20 years, I realize I am the luckiest man in Mississippi.