In the early 90s, fresh out of college and entering the real world, I was given a shot on a popular, morning radio show to make my mark. Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rockers, I defaulted to an area that, up until then, was just a hobby: collecting colorful words and expressions and noting their origins.
Armed with a folder of trivia, I offered my findings, much to the amusement of the show's host and those political guests who graced our scene. In no time, "I Didn't Know That" earned its title and place in the hearts of our audience, and in no time at all, listeners were calling in, asking questions and mailing stories (told to them by their Papaw's no doubt... )
The rest, as they say, is history.
Anyone who has ever self published a book knows it takes all of three people to convince you that you oughta try. (Take my word: it's not for the faint of heart!) But with far more energy than brains back then, I created first, a Volume One, then a Volume Two. And thanks to a loyal Nashville audience and a handful of die hard friends, those early years kept us all busy, until finally, I had to choose my first love: quippy books or talk radio.
For more than ten years, politics kept my 18 hour days full. But thanks to friends who remembered (and some who've just met this book for the first time) ...the little engine that could, found its way to the big house.
I am honored to have Scribner as the publisher of the new and improved "I Didn't Know That!"
The goal is now as it was then: to keep the stories alive...to share the informative and entertaining histories behind the words we use and the expressions we love...and to have you saying... "I Didn't Know That" before it's all said and done.
