Jest the Two of Us: A Humorous Look at His and Her Columns

In Jest the Two of Us, Sammy and Vicki Ellis Griffis share the funnies of their lives about their rural childhood, mischievous teens, and their opposites-attract marriage that everyone said would never last. They chronicle the adolescent adventures of their children and grandchildren who have endured their sometimes warped sense of humor with their heads held high and their therapists on speed dial.Their 6,000 mile road trip, “We’re Tripping,” where Vicki is soaring above the clouds while Sammy is along for the ride only because he is married will have you. . .well. . .tripping. You will be entertained by Vicki’s horrifying but hilariously funny account, “What, Me Worry?” a tale of the woe of a mother whose daughter has just asked to go on a date—all alone—with a boy—in a car. You will cringe with her husband and grandson as she admits her embarrassing, yet totally exhilarating addiction to yelling at referees in her award-winning short story, “I Can Quit Anytime I Want To.”In, “Elvis, You are a Friend of Mine,” Sammy’s humorous account of the similarities between him and Elvis such as, “He was tall and good-looking. . .I am tall and . . .well, I am tall,” will have you all shook up. In, “PopPop Won’t Quit Singing,” Sammy telling the grandchildren, “If ya’ll don’t quit fighting, I will start singing songs, and I know a hundred of them,” will have you singing his praises. In Jest the Two of Us, you will find many other accounts, seasoned with humor and sprinkled with life, that will make you laugh, make you think, and yes, maybe even shed a tear or two.

Vicki Ellis Griffis began writing for her local newspaper when her last child went kicking and screaming to preK. Her weekly columns detailing the wacky lives of her husband, Sammy, kids, and grandkids in the Celeste Star, Wolfe City Mirror, and Celeste Tribune fed her obsession with writing down anything that made her laugh, much to her family’s chagrin. Sammy Griffis began his writing career when Vicki begged him to fill in for a newspaper deadline she was not going to be able to keep. Sammy said, “Yes,” only because he deemed it a one-time thing. He soon became a popular featured favorite in the Celeste Tribune. After several stories in magazine publications, two Silver Leos Writers Guild books, and the Texas A&M-Commerce fiftieth publication of The Mayo Review, they, along with their two children, son and daughter-in-loves, three-and-a-half grandchildren, and one totally-possessed cat decided to bare it all in Jest the Two of Us, a Humorous Look at His and Her Columns. Well, actually, the cat would not sign the release, so her chapter was deleted.