George Dawson was born the grandson of a slave in Marshall, Texas, on January 18, 1898. His four brothers and sisters attended a school for black children, but George, the oldest, had to go to work to help the family make ends meet. He was just eight years old when he first left home to live at and work as a farm hand on a white family's farm. But from his warm and loving parents Dawson inherited a positive life philosophy, based on focusing on how much they had rather than how little, and on wise observance of others, and common sense.Richard Glaubman captures Dawson's personality, philosophy, voice and amazing life story, from his early years in Marshall -- his jobs as farmhand and sawmill worker, to his attraction to a white girl which he handled to protect them both, to his departure at 21, when he said goodbye to his family, and hopped a train to find his way in Memphis. Throughout this story, "Life Is So Good" captures Dawson's techniques for survival, and the history of the nation, as seen through Dawson's eyes -- segregation and race relations in the South, the First World War, the invention of the automobile and the airplane, the desegregation of baseball, and more.
Dawson worked many jobs in his 101 years, including laying railroad ties. He was married twice, widowed twice, and raised seven children. At 98, long after he retired, a local teacher offered to teach him to read, and he realized he was tired of making an "X" for his signature, he wanted to be able to read the Bible and the newspaper. After learning his alphabet in half a day, Dawson has learned to read, print and write.
Throughout his story, Dawson repeats the message that has sustained a happy life, thathis father passed on to him at an early age: "life is good. I do believe it's getting better." So good, also, are his ways of being and being happy, his wisdom and knowledge about survival, joy, people, and life.
