"Story after wonderful story, tall tale after tall tale. Ray Lum
tells a southern writer where he came from, and where he ought to
go."
-Shelby Foote
"Bill Ferris makes me wish I'd known Ray Lum."
-Larry Brown
"Indeed, the mule trader has undoubtedly helped to form our
great oral tradition in the South . Ray Lum was] a man born and
bred to the practice of the country monologue."
-Eudora Welty
Readers captivated by this book will be happy that Bill Ferris
found Ray Lum and that he thought to turn on a tape recorder. Lum
(1891--1977) was a mule skinner, a livestock trader, an auctioneer,
and an American original.
This delightful book, first published in 1992 as "You Live and
Learn. Then You Die and Forget It All," preserves Lum's colorful
folk dialect and captures the essence of this one-of-a-kind figure
who seems to have stepped full-blooded from the pages of Mark
Twain. This riveting talespinner was tall, heavy-set, and full of
body rhythm as he talked. In his special world he was famous for
trading, for tale-telling, and for common-sense lessons that had
made him a savvy bargainer and a shrewd businessman. His home and
his auction barn were in Vicksburg, Mississippi, where mules were
his main interest, but in trading he fanned out over twenty states
and even into Mexico. A west Texas newspaper reported his fame this
way: He is known all over cow country for his honest fair dealing
and gentlemanly attitude..... A letter addressed to him anywhere in
Texas probably would be delivered.
Over several years Ferris recorded Lum's many long
conversations that detail livestock auctioneering, cheery memories
of rustic Deep South culture, and a philosophy of life that is
grounded in good horse sense. Even among the most spellbinding
talkers Lum is a standout both for what he has to say and for the
way he says it. Ferris's lucky, protracted encounters with him turn
out to be the best of good fortune for everybody.
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