My brother Tim was the one who nicknamed me Gracie. I suspect he did it just so he could say, "Goodnight, Gracie" in a George Burns kind of way each time we finished a phone call. He even had a special name plate made for my office when I became editor of the Bluffton Eccentric newspaper, a wonderful publication that allowed humor to reign alongside the "real" news that was often downright depressing. The nameplate, presented on a golden stand, stated:

Gracie P. Daughtry
Editer

He said no one in Bluffton would ever be able to spell my name correctly anyway.

Every once in a while I would get stuck for ideas for the next week's publication. Tim was just a phone call away and would crank out a dozen ideas in the span of 11.3 seconds. I finally talked him into writing an occasional column which he agreed to as long as he could write under a pseudonym. Albert Fish, Occasional Reporter, was born.

He rankled the town with his first column. He reported that the National Task Force for the Elimination of Duplicated Places was about to change Bluffton's name since there was already a Bluffton, Ohio, and a Bluffton, Indiana. He claimed that the Bluffton that sent in the most sincere letter stating the best reasons why their town should be the Bluffton would be allowed to keep its name.

We kept the story going for a few weeks and finally ran his column reporting that our Bluffton was named first runner-up in the contest and "must cease and desist using the Bluffton name within two years, a transitional grace period."

I just knew we would be bombarded with mullet.

So, we decided to let the fish out of the bag by way of an in-depth interview with Albert Fish. If anyone could take Albert seriously after reading the interview, I knew they were beyond eccentric.

Tim donned a bowler hat, false teeth and small round dark glasses so I could photograph him for the story. In the interview (which ran a full page), Albert said he hailed from Neenah, Wisconsin, up around the Sambrea Cheese Pits and had won the Curdling Tournament when he was only 12 years old. He went on to say that he became a writer after entering a contest to come up with a new slogan for the state:

"They felt that 'America's Dairy Land' was too agrarian. I came up with the still-used slogan that appears on cheddar yellow license plates in the more avant-garde regions of the state - "Eat Cheese or Die." Winning the slogan contest changed my career to one of creative journalism."

We concluded the interview with his recollections of one of his family's Christmas tradition:

"The Christmas tree is themed as 'Cheeses of Many Lands.' We visit the local delicatessens and buy lots of cheeses - hard and soft, fromages like Gouda, Gruyere, Swiss and Havarti - and then we cut them into one inch squares, put ornament hooks in 'em and hang them on the tree over high intensity bulbs. In a couple of hours, the 'Cheese Fondue Festoon' is ready. All the neighbors come over and we distribute loaves of bread so everyone can partake of the tree."

Ah, what a wonderful wit.

We will all miss his humor and immense kindness. The accolades on this website are such honest reflections of the special place Tim held in all of our hearts.

I know I will see him in the sweet by and by; but for now, I'll just say, "Goodnight, Gracie."