Ed Grisamore

A man’s life cannot be measured by celebrity. His worth cannot be counted by his riches. His countenance is not a reflection of the spotlight he attracts.

Durwood “Mr. Doubletalk” Fincher has had a memorable year. He has made thousands of people laugh from Martha’s Vineyard to Reno to Lacrosse, Wisconsin to Naples, Fla., and back again.

His book, “Once You Step in Elephant Manure, You’re in the Circus Forever,’’ has been a validation of this amazing life we have come to know as “Durworld,’’ where I can honestly say there is never a dull moment.

He sat next to actor Woody Harrelson on a flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles. They talked – and doubletalked – the whole 1,944 miles. He dazzled and entertained one of the best players in baseball – David “Big Papi” Ortiz – near the dugout on a summer afternoon at Turner Field before the Boston Red Sox played the Atlanta Braves. Big Papi never laughed louder or grinned wider than he did after he was doubletalked by the man (watch here on YouTube) who was discovered by Allen Funt of Candid Camera.

Durwood doubletalked golfer Lee Trevino, too, and the entire Georgia Southern football team. He unleashed his verbal whiplash on the unsuspecting CEOs, waitresses, college kids, telemarketers and countless others. It’s what he does for a living – and gets paid for it. If laughter is the best medicine, he has saved a lot of lives. If there were a cabinet position for humor, Durwood would be appointed Minister of Fun.

Yet,  if you asked Durwood to pull out one of those big, yellow markers and highlight the year, it would have nothing to do with flying first class or staying in the Ritz Carlton.

There were so many other things that mattered more. Much more.

For sure, the book has reunited him with old friends and introduced him to new ones. He has embraced each moment on the receiving end of countless handshakes and hugs. He has rekindled friendships with former students, teachers, co-workers and neighbors. When we had a book signing at Harpin’s restaurant in Payne City back in January, on the same ground where the cotton mill once stood, many of his old acquaintances from the village showed up, and the line was out the door on a glorious afternoon.

In March, Durwood was honored as the grand marshal of the Cherry Blossom Festival parade and was given a key to the city by Mayor Robert Reichert. It was one of the most special of special days. The linthead from the village, who was never expected to amount to much, rode in a red convertible down Cherry Street, where people were calling his name. Ahead of him was the color guard, and he watched as folks placed their hands over their hearts as it marched by.

He still wears that key to the city around his neck, by the way, the biggest bling ever to meet your eyeballs. He jokes that it opens the door to the Nu-Way. That key has traveled around the country and back, and people always ask him about it. So there is no finer ambassador for Macon, Ga., than Durwood Fincher.

In May, he stood before the Central Georgia Boy Scout Council, at a benefit at The Armory Ballroom. . His late father used to work in that building many years ago.  The Boy Scouts also presented him with an Eagle Scout badge to replace the one he had earned in Payne City in the early 1960s but had lost (or simply misplaced) like so many other things in his organizationally-challenged life.

And, finally, Durwood was chosen to light the Advent candle at his church, Peachtree Presbyterian in Atlanta, during the Sunday morning worship service on Dec. 6.

It was a huge honor for him. Of course, the church staff had to remind him he had no “speaking” part in this service, not an easy restraint for Mr. Doubletalk.

But he sure was talking to himself as he reached to light the candle.

His inner conversation went something like this:

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.

And he did. These are the things that matter most.