Jim Waller - Local Author

I actually stumbled upon my interview with Jim Waller as I walked into the Justabreeze Gallery, working on something completely different. When I saw him sitting on a stool in front of Miss Tammy's counter, I figured he was just a friend visiting the gallery.

After talking to Miss Tammy about some different business, she introduced me to Jim Waller (whom I call Mr. Jim), the featured writer doing a book signing that day for his book Tybee Sunrise.

To be in the presence of a published author slightly intimidated me, but Mr. Jim was extremely kind, making it easy for me to talk about myself and my writing, and even asking him about his writing.

He told me how he was mostly a fiction writer, and desired to branch out into nonfiction writing, but wasn't sure if he would just yet. He gestured toward the paper he was holding in his hands, saying it was a chapter from his new fiction novel he was writing.

I was surprised and flattered when he held out the paper to me, and asked if I would proofread the chapter for him. He even stood up from the stool, offering me a place to sit as I read.

His generosity, and my curiousness as to his background before writing led me to push past my intimidation, and ask for an interview with him. 

My conversation with Mr. Jim was more than an interview; it was an opportunity to get to know him as a person, and to learn from him writer-to-writer. It was truly awesome to speak with him. 

***

Miss Tammy allowed us to sit in the back of her shop, giving us a quieter space to conduct the interview. 

Jim Waller has lived on Tybee Island since January 1997, after he spent three years in Hawaii, and fell in love with island living. When he came back to Georgia from Hawaii, he would travel to an island whenever he had the opportunity. He's visited the islands of Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Jekyll, St. Simons, and Tybee. 

"Tybee was the most attractive to me. It fit my personality more than any of the other islands," Mr. Jim explained, "The laid back attitude...'You take care of your business, I'll take care of mine' sort of thing...I kind of like that."

Mr. Jim spent his career in education mostly in rural Georgia, but didn't feel as special of a connection there as he did with Tybee Island. "These rural communities impress me to be very right wing, Republican types (not that there's anything wrong with Republicans, I like them). A lot of these rural communities seem [to be] so uptight about everything - everything's just a crisis. And that just doesn't fit my personality [which is] it is what it is; when it happens, you deal with it. Either you have the self-confidence and strength to deal with it, or you don't. But I'm not gonna sit around, and worry about stuff all the time."

Although he was an educator himself, Mr. Jim says he was not a very good student in school. "I never liked school. Even when I finished, I didn't like it. I felt no pride, or any particular satisfaction.

"When I graduated from high school, I went into the military. I grew up in Atlanta, near the Atlanta airport...as a boy, I thought [that] probably what I might want to do is be an aircraft mechanic when I got older. And so, I joined the Air Force, asked them to make me a mechanic, and they did (and I was a good one!). 

"I was in the Air Force for six years. Normally, there's a four-year enlistment, but I was thinking about maybe making it a career, and then, I decided, ' Well, I think I might want to go to college.' And I could not do that [while I was] in the military. Some can, in some situations but I moved around a lot; even though I was in Hawaii, I flew all over the place." 

Mr. Jim started studying English at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia, after he got out of the military. Unfortunately, Georgia State didn't offer a fine arts curriculum during that time, so he decided that he would specifically study journalism, and double-major in journalism and English. 

By the time his college graduation was closing in, Mr. Jim had a wife and child, and began thinking that the journalism career route would not have been financially sufficient enough to sustain himself and his family. Realizing he had other options, he decided that maybe he'd become a nuclear physicist.

Mr. Jim said with a laugh, "After about the first course of calculus, and so forth, I said, '...This ain't gon' work. What else can we do?' "

He thought about doing social work because he liked working with and helping people, but the salary offered was also low. This is when the idea of teaching came around. Even though the pay for teaching wasn't good either, the benefits and retirement program are what motivated him to enter into the education field. 

Mr. Jim's background fascinated me. As an aspiring writer, I always thought that after graduating college I would have to have some sort of specific writing career in order for me to ever be able to write at all, otherwise, writing would not be possible.

In response to my reaction to his educational and career story, Mr. Jim assured me, "You'd be surprised at how many people have done that. But of course, the sooner you start, the better off you're gonna be. 

"Just start writing. Even if it doesn't make any sense, just start writing. And it'l come to you. What I usually do is, I know where I wanna go; I know what the end is gonna be. I have a vague idea of where to start. And it's the middle that, once you start, it'll fill itself in, and really, if you know where you're going, and know where to start...if writing is really in your soul, it'll come out on the page. And that's the best kind."

When Mr. Jim was in school, he wasn't interested in reading books such as The Hardy Boys, but read authors such as John Steinbeck, William Faulkner, Harper Lee, Erskin Caldwell, and other Southern writers. 

"Some of the best stories that I have ever read were somewhat biographical. Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath - great book. His East of Eden...in my estimation, it's the best thing he ever made, and it was very largely biographical. Very interesting. And one of the things about it that I liked, is that Steinbeck created the most evil woman tha thad ever been created. God couldn't create a woman as evil as the main woman in that book! Take my word for it: it's the best thing he [Steinbeck] ever did."

Mr. Jim says his favorite place on Tybee would have to be his house! But he also enjoys being near the ocean. "Because I enjoy landscaping, and I spend a lot of time on that. But other than that, I would think the ocean and rivers would probably be my favorite places. I just love water

"And if you think about it...the fact of the matter is, we would not be here if it weren't for the oceans and the sun. And the fact that the good lord placed us in an ideal situation in this great creation that He created.

He continues, "I believe that's where we came form: we came from the water. You know, you still do that - mammals and humans spend the first nine months of their lives in water. I believe we crawled out of the oceans...and we evolved. So it's water; I just love it. I wish it would rain!"

Both Mr. Jim and I realized that the entire interview was pretty much a response to Miss Laura's question What do you like to do in your off time? : He likes to landscape and write.

Now, Mr. Jim's question for the next Tybee Island Profile is this: Since you have been on Tybee, can you give me a general impression of the island's personality has been within the past two years? 


***You can find Jim Waller's latest book Tybee Sunrise at the Justabreeze Gallery & Framing at 1207 U.S. 80 Suite F. You can also visit his blog at https://jimwallersouthernfiction.com/2016/05/17/81/.

Laura Leonard - Service writer for Freddie's Garage and Towing

Last week, Cupcake, my white 1994 Honda Civic, was having some braking issues, so my stepdad suggested that I drop her off at Freddie’s Garage and Towing. Located along Highway 80 East, Freddie’s is a small, privately-owned, old-fashioned car garage that doesn’t take debit or credit cards; cash or check only.

I’d never dropped my car off at a garage before, so I was slightly nervous as I approached the small building. The door was wide open, revealing an old wooden desk that was cluttered with papers, trinkets, objects that were probably car-related, but that I wasn’t familiar with. The whirr of a giant fan was the first thing I heard, and I noticed the place wasn’t air conditioned.

“Can I help you?”

I turned to my left to see where the sweet Southern voice had come from, and behind another wooden desk hidden behind a computer screet sat Miss Laura Leonard (I just call her Miss Laura), a red-headed woman with glasses. I hesitantly walked toward her desk, and told her of my brake issues. She stood up and walked around her desk and passed me to get through the door to see my car.

After hearing my explanation, she made a hypothesis diagnosis about my brake rotors, calipers, and hose being damaged, and told me that they wouldn’t be able to look at my car until Monday, which was fine with me. She called me the following week to tell me her hypothesis had been correct, and I was curious as to whether she herself had been the one to look at my car, or if she was just the messenger. I decided she’d be a great person to interview.

During our interview, many customers came into the building with different questions, and the phone rang a couple of times, giving me more opportunities to see Miss Laura in her element. Having car troubles can be frustrating, but customers can feel relieved to interact with Miss Laura’s sweet, assuring personality. It is very clear that she is a major help in keeping Freddie’s running.

 

A little about Freddie’s…

Freddie’s was opened, not by Freddie himself, but by his father in August 1946 as a gas station. Where it currently is located is where it has always been, although Miss Laura informed me that the current building used to extend where the yellow line of Highway 80 is, but was cut back in order for the road to be built.

When Freddie’s father passed away, Freddie turned the gas station into a garage, and with the transition, he also decided to stop taking debit and credit cards, and accept cash and checks only because of fees.

Next month, Freddie’s will be celebrating its 70^th anniversary.

About Miss Laura…

“Have you always been interested in cars?”

“No, actually. My father was a mechanic, but I didn’t care back then.” Miss Laura said she wasn’t fully interested until she began dating Mr. Roger Leonard, who is now her husband. They’ve been married for sixteen years, seven of which they lived on Tybee Island.

“He [Mr. Roger] worked at Goodyear when we first got together,” she explains, “and I would hang out there. And you know, it is kinda interesting. When he started here with Freddie, I was working at the IGA in the deli. And after a while, he decided he needed some help; it was just Roger and Freddie. So Roger was trying to work on the cars (he did all the diagnosing, and [took] calls for parts and calls for Freddie). So, he told me, ‘Come over here!’ And this is what I’ve been doing ever since; I’m a service writer. So I have to look up the parts, get the prices, call the people…give ‘em the bad news [sometimes].”

“Do you diagnose cars yourself? You diagnosed mine a little bit…”

“Only from listening to Roger and Freddie because I watch them all the time. So some things are easy. The very first thing Roger ever got me to understand was a power-steering pump. It’s got the most distinctive whine to it; it’s like your car’s just crying at you.

“The next thing he taught me (he does this all the time) is, someone will tell him, ‘My air conditioner will only blow on number 4, but not 1, 2, or 3.’ And he’ll tell them, ‘Oh, go ask Laura!’ And [I know] that’s the blower motor resistor.”

In regards to my car brake issue, Miss Laura said, “I had that happen to me on my Ford Ranger a long time ago. Except mine locked up solid; it just froze, smoke, everything. It was bad, Freddie had to tow me back from Wilmington Island.”

“You just get to the point where you can see them, and your problem is just what it sounded like. But I always tell people, ‘I am not the one that [officially diagnoses] it, it’s just what I think!’"

Miss Laura says she thinks she’s been Freddie’s service writer for about ten years, although she explains, “It could be longer, I don’t know! I don’t even remember anymore; it just blends together!”

When asked what her favorite place on Tybee Island was, Miss Laura responded that she just liked walking on the beach. “When we lived here, I usually only did it early in the morning, or later in the afternoon because I burn so easily! But I like going extremely early in the morning.”

Miss Laura had the opportunity to answer previous interviewee Carola Stone’s question: What’s your favorite book, and why?

“Actually, it’s a three-part series, and it’s by Nora Roberts: The Inn Boonesboro trilogy. I love those books.”

She conveniently had the second book under her desk, and pulled out the worn paperback for me to look at. The book’s curved cover edges, and off-white pages told me that it had been held many times. In fact, Miss Laura said, “I’ve read the trilogy about ten times already!”

“I like them because it’s not horror, it’s not sappy, it’s just…nice.”

She also suggested a series I should read about a bounty hunter called The Numbers trilogy by Janet Evanovich.

“Right now I think it’s up to twenty-five or twenty-six!” she exclaimed, “The main character is a bounty hunter, and she’s kind of like me: she’s never done this job before in her life, and she takes it with her cousin because she got laid off, and she’s terrible at it. But the more she bumbles and grumbles her way through it, she always ends up finding the guy, and solving the mystery. The library has the books, and it doesn’t matter where you start. Number one is probably the slowest one, but I actually started on number ten! I found it in a book bin for like a buck or something, and I started it, and she is hilarious!”

Finally, Miss Laura’s question for the next Tybee Island Profile is: What do you like to do in your off time?

Carola Stone, 22

I sat at a bright turquoise picnic table outside of the Tybean Art and Coffee Bar, waiting for Carola Stone's arrival. It was another hot and humid day; even sitting in the shade seemed to barely provide relief in the sweltering heat. Thankfully, I wouldn't have to wait too long; Carola had just finished working her shift at the Visit Tybee Information Center, and was walking from her aunt's house with her cousin, Mary-Kate, to meet me.

Carola grew up on Tybee Island when she was younger, living here for about 11 years before moving to Whitemarsh Island when her mother became pregnant with her twin brother and sister. They currently reside on Whitemarsh, where Carola normally lives with them, however, she is currently living with her aunt on Tybee for the summer, and has a job at the Visit Tybee Information Center until September. 

When asked about working at Visit Tybee, she explains, "The people [who come into the center] are nice, and I get to talk to people all day."

A few interesting things about Carola...

- She attended cosmetology school, and once in a while provides her friends with haircuts, styles, coloring, etc.

- Her favorite place on Tybee is Jaycee Park, which is very close to where her aunt lives.  

"I spent a lot of time there as a kid," she says, "it's cool. Stuff carved into trees...there's a lot of stuff that's not there anymore, but it's still cool to see." She also informs me that it is now a "Pokestop." (pronounced "pough-key-stop"). 

(For those who do not know, a "Pokestop" is a blue icon on the latest cell phone game app that can potentially provide a player with different items. As a non-Pokemon Go player, I had to search for this definition on Google). 

[information provided by International Business Times]

She explains that she, her younger siblings, and her cousins will go to the park to walk around themselves, or to walk Bridgett, her aunt's dog. 

"Or [we'll be] looking for the cats because they've disappeared!"

Carola goes on to describe a memory she has of growing up on Tybee Island...

"I was the only girl in this group of a bunch of boys. This was around 2005. There was a lake near where my friend lived, and there was this false dock that worked, but was more for decoration, and there was a boat there.

"So we got the idea to attach fireworks to roller blades to my friend, who is not only the most breakable person in our group, but the most clumsy. And we had this ramp, this cheap little ramp (because everyone was getting into skateboarding). We just put it there. 

"And we lit the fireworks, they went off. They didn't make him go anywhere. They were just lighting off on him, but he was trying to still go. Like, he was trying to make it look like [it was working]. And he tried to go up the ramp, and the ramp just kinda moved out of the way, and he went flying, and he hit the middle of his shin on the side of the boat. And he was screaming...

"It just so happened my friend's older brother and his friends were walking by and saw us, and saw him screaming in the boat, and they came. His friends grabbed the skates off of him, and dunked them in the water because they were still going off. And they grabbed my friend that was in the boat, and...yeah, we broke his leg.

"He was piggy-backed back to my best friend's house, and we had to look at my best friend's mom and tell her, 'He probably needs to go to the hospital...because there's a dent [in his shin].' It was fractured in about three places.

"He didn't have a cast for some reason, he had this huge brace that went from his ankle all the way to his inner thigh, and these metal bars that stopped it from being able to bend. He had that for months. And then when he got that off, I think he broke his arm!

"It wasn't that big of a deal, but looking back...I think that's the epitome of being a Tybee kid to me. Nobody was watching us...How did we do all of these things?"

Carola is not only a hairstylist, but also an artist. Below are a few drawings of hers: 

Finally, Carola provided a question for the next Tybee Island Profile: What's your favorite book and why?