Title: Hey, Everybody! Preston Carlisle Tells His Story
Author: Preston C. Carlisle
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 978-1–5434-6425-2
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Pages: 118
Reviewed by: Allison Walker
Pacific Book Review
You’ll recall The Judd’s song, “Grandpa, tell me ’bout the good ole’ days.” The song is sweet for the sharing of memories passed between a grandparent and grandchild, but also a little sad in it’s nostalgia for times that will not be repeated and may be forgotten. Reading Preston Carlisle’s book, Hey, Everybody! It is impossible not to recall that song and feel the same sweet nostalgia. Hey, Everybody! is a grandfather’s lasting gift to his grandchildren, a collection of stories about his life.
Preston Colfax Carlisle’s book is the sharing of stories both good and of questionable morality, and it helps us preserve our past. The stories are themed in a way which makes sense; one chapter about Carlisle’s service in the Army, one about his brutal but defining father, and another about the cows that constantly broke loose when he and his wife first purchased their farm. Many of the stories are cautionary tales to his grandchildren, since Carlisle suffered from a debilitating lack of self-esteem and did very poorly in school as a child, but many are also funny. My favorite is the story of Carlisle and his friend having dinner at a girl’s house; they smell succulent roast chicken cooking, but are served Chinese take-out while the family’s dog eats the aromatic bird.
Reading Hey, Everybody! brings to mind the stories shared by my own father and the near incessant begging he must have endured: “Daddy, can you tell a story?” The book is classic in that way, the image of a grandfather storytelling to his grandchildren, plus the stories themselves are homey and heartfelt. Carlisle did not live a glamorous life, but he lived a real life. While sweet in its authentic portrayal of the everyman, this also limits the book’s appeal to a larger audience. The stories are certainly relatable, based on reality not fiction.
Storytelling has always been an integral part of every culture, but recently it seems to be more of a dying art. Instead, children are plugged into their tablets and smart phones, and adults disappear into the TV every night after work. Carlisle brings back the old tradition of storytelling, and in doing so shares not only his love for his children and grandchildren, but also shares his past with all those who care to read it.
It was philosophy instructor George Santayana who first said, ‘Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.’ Hey, Everybody! is an authentic portrayal of a man’s life in the mid to late ’90s and an easy read for anyone interested in remembering the past.
