Tales of the Shep
Contributor's Stories and Comments about Jean Shepherd & These Pages
Volume 9
Date: Thu, 08 May 1997 17:51:10 -0300
From: Gary WA3YVB <gonzo@p3.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: JS reads the poems of Robert Service
Jean Shepherd reads the Poems of Robert Service is available from
Smithsonian Folkways on cassette and CD. F-9754. The address is:
http://www.si.edu/folkways/start.html
I was told that the CD version will not be ready for at least two
months.
Gary WA3YVB
Date: Mon, 19 May 1997 07:56:35 -0400
From: Bruce Clark <sixofone@netreach.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Jean Shepherd - Carousel of Progress
Hi Jim!
Just returned from Walt Disney World. I had the chance to try
out my new Sony Mini-Digital Camcorder! I taped the entire Carousel of
Progress with Shep's voice. If you don't have a copy and need one, I
would be happy to make a copy for you. All I ask would be for $5 to
cover the cost of the fresh blank VHS tape and the shipping. Let me
know if you need it! You'll have to tell me you address again too...
-Bruce Clark
North Wales, PA
Date: Thu, 22 May 1997 04:29:02 -0700
From: Bruce Badger <rlbadger@erols.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
Great job on the site! I've only just gotten a computer and am gratified
that someone took the time to set up a Shepherd page.I just read the FAQ
page- I have a videotape of the pbs show "Jean Shepherd on Rout 1".I'd be
happy to send you a copy if you don't have it.I'll be placing a tape
order from you in a few days. Thanks for the site!
Bruce Badger
From: Dave Fleming djf3rd@pipeline.com
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 16:51:32 -0700
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
Hi,as has been said before. I just found your page and I wonder if any body
recalls the time Shep called a meeting of listeners in Washington Square
Park in NY,near NYU and we all brought mineature kites flying them to give
the illusion that they were high in the air. Well the crowd was large
enough to bring the police. After Shep talked to the police we
adjurned to a nearby Horn&Hardots. The manager damn near dirtied his pants
when 'Shep's Army' flooded in.
It went on till midnight or thereabouts. For a 'preppie' it was quite an
adventure,Greenwich Village after dark! I think it was in 1955.
Best,dave fleming
Date: Sun, 25 May 1997 22:55:41 -0400
From: Dave Ryder <dryder@erols.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Flick Lives!! on this site
Hi Jim,
I guess because I too have been a Shep fan since forever, that immediately puts us on
a first name basis. I have just finished relishing your site and Bob Kaye's for the
first time, and they are both great finds. Thank you very much for creating them.
At the moment (May 26, 1997), I feel like I should be getting ready to see Shep
at Princeton like my friend Tom and I have been doing for 12 years. We both were born
in 1959, and started our friendship based on our mutual love of Shep. Since you seem to
be in the know, I hope you can fill us in on Shep's condition. I could only get that
the show was cancelled "due to health reasons" from the folks at Princeton.
As for meeting the master, I had the pleasure twice in my life. Once at a book
signing for Ferrari in The Bedroom at A&S in Hempstead (it's now history). I can still
here Shep saying "Now step right up and let me place the appropriate obscenity in your
book". My dad took me, being a big Shepherd fan himself. In fact, it was my father who
turned me on to Shepherd. And thank God I had him on my side when my mom would yell at
me for "keeping that damn radio on....especially on a school night!". I can remember my
dad and I together (he died in 1981) listening to Shepherd outside on late summer
nights, especially "Ludlow Kissell and the Dago Bomb That Struck Back" on the Fourth of
July.
The second meeting I owe to my friend Tom, who has worked at various local radio
stations. He arranged to get a backstage press pass at Princeton, so we went back and
spoke a bit to Shep. This was the 1988 Princeton show. While Shep downed his slice of
pizza, I showed him a letter I had just received from the Museum of Broadcasting in New
York City (now the Museum of Radio and Television). He was genuinely surprised to see
that the Museum had agreed with me that "Mr. Shepherd was indeed an important part of
radio history" and that they would be obtaining some of his shows for preservation. He
even called Leigh Brown over because neither one had been contacted to get the shows for
the Museum. I felt so proud to have done even a little something for someone who had
given me so much over the years.
I too taped some old shows (circa 1972/73) from WOR that are barely audible. I made
them using an open mike from my old Hallicrafters radio onto a Lafayette cassette
recorder. And they sound like it. Complete with mom yelling and dog barking (You can't
make this stuff up!). I saw your link to a catalog of Shepherd tapes and I will check
that out next.
One thing I do own that I have not seen on your site or Bob Kaye's are a complete set
of seven tapes of Jean Shepherd reading his own material. They are called "Shepherd's
Pie" (not to be confused with the PBS TV show) and were issued by Dorset Audio and I
bought them through Barnes and Noble. They include:
Slice 1- Red Ryder Nails The Cleveland Street Kid
Slice 2- Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories And Other Disasters
Slice 3- Ludlow Kissell and the Dago Bomb That Struck Back / Little Orphan Annie (or The
Counterfeit Secret Circle Member)
Slice 4- Leopold Doppler and the Great Orpheum Gravy Boat Riot
Slice 5- Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss
Slice 6- County Fair!
Slice 7- Scut Farkas and the Murderous Mariah
I would be more than willing to make copies for trade with other Shep fans.
Well, without Princeton this year, I will have to go off, listen to all my Shep tapes
again, and then settle down with "A Fistful of Fig Newtons". Jim, all that is left to
say is Excelsior!
-Dave Ryder
david.ryder@reuters.com
P.S. -> Shep, if somehow you see this message or this web site, then let me please say
"get better, for chrissake!" so we can see you in Jersey!
Date: Thu, 29 May 1997 14:54:07 -0700
From: Gary Croner <gary.croner@clorox.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: My Shep recollections
Thanks for putting together this wonderful web page!
I too discovered Shep in my early teen years, in the early 60's. I was
channel surfing on my AM radio and kept passing WOR and Shep's live
show. The audience always laughed a lot and listening to his
coming-of-age stories, I thought he was talking directly to me. I soon
started listening fairly regularly and did so for several years until
going off to college in '69. I didn't watch much TV after then, so I
missed most of "Jean Shepherd's America" - I did catch the beer show, and
thoroughly enjoyed seeing him suck one down at the brewery, recalling his
stories about beer (his mussings about his father's drinking and how he
became a beer drinker as a child). I didn't get a chance to see any of
"Shepherd's Pie." I did catch a couple of the American Playhouse
productions. I have all of his books and thanks to a fairly liberated
mother (in this one respect), I was allowed to buy Playboy when he had a
story in it.
Random memories:
Watching the Dick Cavett show somewhere from the late 60's to mid 70's
(not really certain) and catching Shep on it. On this particular show,
Stokely Carmichael was the prior guest. When Shep came on I detected a
look of awe on Carmichael's face. My thought was that he must have
grown up listening to Shep. What made this interesting was that moments
before he was doing his political thing, spouting off on something or
other in a typical intimidating style. The transformation of his
demeanor was marked.
My brother, who is three years younger than I, became a fan around the
same age I did - at the beginning of high school, after I had gone off to
college. I felt then that there must be something in the air that
compelled young men in the WOR broadcasting area to turn the dial to the
one show which talked to them (no offense meant to the females who
listened and were/are fans).
While I love most of what he's done, my favorite Shepherd story is
"County Fair." When I first tried to read it, I could not stop laughing
when I got to the scene when his Dad takes the boys on the carnival ride.
I had to put the book down. I tried to read it twice more that day and
the same thing happened. Fifteen to twenty years or so later, when I
read this to my children, I started laughing out loud again.
Does anyone else find themselves singing "The Sheik of Arabi" or
fantasizing about being a one man band? I memorized the words of
"Pachalafeka" (I'm sure this spelling is way off) and still sing it in
the shower (its so romantic and perky after all). And thanks to Shep, I
became a Jew's Harp player and have a small collection - I do have my
front teeth miraculously.
Other news: I recently received a catalog from Critic's Choice Video,
P.O. Box 749, Itasca, IL 60143-0749, (800) 367-7765. They are selling
"Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss" starring James B. Sikking, Dorothy
Lyman, and Jerry O'Connell, for $29.95, and "My Summer Story" with
Charles Grodin, Mary Steenburgen and Kieran Culkin for $14.95.
One last thing: I cannot agree with those who put down Garrison Keillor,
as if he's usurping Shep's rightful place on the throne. It doesn't
strike me that they are competing with each other. In fact, Shep would
be a natural guest for Keillor's show - perhaps we should inundate him
with requests for an appearance on A Prairie Home Companion! I would not
want to be without either of them. We need more humorists, not fewer. I
find their styles different, and both make me laugh.
Thanks again!
Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 09:16:55 -0700
From: Gary.Croner@clorox.com (Gary Croner)
Subject: Re[2]: My Shep recollections
To: Jim Sadur <jsadur@keyflux.com>
Glad to have provided the info.
I realized over the weekend that there is one erroneous reference in my
note to you, so if you intend to include it along with the other letters
please remove the sentence about "Pachalafeka" - as I recall now, that was
a Soupy Sales bit and not one of Shep's, although it could have been.
From: Henry Goldman Hginqnyc@aol.com
Date: Fri, 30 May 1997 22:19:03 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shepherd...
God I loved that guy...remember being in my bed...dark...under the
covers...and laughing so hard the bed shook! My parents would here me
giggling with glee!!!! Much louder than if I had been masturbating!!!!! They
wondered what it could be....I told them it was this guy Jean Shepherd...They
started listening and they got hooked!
I loved him...loved the stories about Flick and Gasser and those Hammond
Indiana days and nights...the swamps...the gas coming up from the
swamps...the mysterious visions of monsters in the swamps...the stories about
girls and embarrassment and trying to get to first base...The stories of
baseball games and Souzaphones and patriotism and marching bands and the
magic of the radio flyer...
I would do anything to hear his voice again...Yes...I'll buy the
tapes...anything...but to recapture those nights, when the music would start,
and there would be his sarcastic, cynical, observant voice...funny...my
pal...telling those fabulous stories on the radio that I wished would never
end...and just laughing with sheer amazement at how he could spin his
stories...and that voice...Jean Shepherd...you are fabulous...you are
loved...you are important...Thank you...for keeping me company...and
informing my sensibility...and becoming part of my youth...and my life...and
my smile...
Henry Goldman
New York
Date: Sun, 01 Jun 1997 14:56:49 -0700
From: John Burdge <burdgej@bellsouth.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep...
Jim,
At the age of seven I was in a polio ward... My Dad K2CQJ at the time
built me a crystal set (all items I touched would be destroyed). I
remember Saturday nights on WOR listening to Shep and how he and my
crystal set befriended me during my isolation.
Keep up the good work Jim!
John Burdge WB4PSL Atlanta, Ga
Date: Mon, 02 Jun 1997 18:29:56 -0500
From: Richard Fish <fish@lodestone-media.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Millburn, New Jersey
That's where I grew up and discovered Shep on WOR sometime in the late
'50s, sez my memory. I listened regularly and remember literally
falling out of bed from laughing so hard, on occasion.
In 1965 or 66, I talked my folks in to taking me into the Limelight,
where we saw a show, and I went up and introduced myself afterwards.
The upshot was that Shep came to Millburn High School and did an
assembly later that year. The show he did was the best Assembly of the
year, and still a subject for vigorous comment and reminiscence at our
20th reunion. There was a recording made of this event, and if anyone
out there knows of the existance of a copy, it would cause rejoicing and
dancing in the streets in several places...
Thanks in large part to Shep's inspiration, I have gone into radio
myself -- radio theatre, in fact. And, ironically, I have moved to
Indiana (but not near Hammond -- I'm in Bloomington, down south, a very
different kind of place).
Just discovered your page today thanks to the OTR list, and I think
it's wonderful!! Am planning to get some of the tapes, and here are a
few questions:
Are any of these tapes available for broadcast? I do a 2-hour radio
theatre show every week on our community radio station WFHB (a
nonprofit), and would love to share Shep with the folks out here.
And what about marketing the tapes? Just exploring the idea here, but
I have a catalog of radio theatre tapes, and am wondering about the
sales possibilities. You can check out what we do by going to our
website at http://www.lodestone-media.com where we have the whole
catalog up. I've been serving as producer for the Firesign Theatre,
and also as audio publisher for Norman Corwin's work, along with a whole
raft of new audio theatre being produced around the country.
Thanks so much for this wonderful site! I plan to add it as a link on
our website, which is accumulating a lot of great radio and
audio-theatre links.
Richard Fish
LodesTone Audio Theatre
611 Empire Mill Road
Bloomington, Indiana 47401
(812) 824-2400 voice
(812) 824-2401 fax
(800) 411-MIND orders
Date: Tue, 03 Jun 1997 18:39:56 -0500
From: Barry Fireman <BFireman@worldnet.att.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
As a teenager in Philadelphia in 1957 I listened to Shep on WOR out of
New York; but I could only hear him when the Heavy Side Layer was just
right because the signal was so weak. I only wanted him to "hurl an
invective" when I had convinced one of my friends to listen in, way
after bedtime. I marveled when he had people show up on a given corner
in Manhattan for a scheduled "mill" and when he had everyone turn up
their radios and put them on their window sills facing OUTSIDE and then
play a recording of a freight train passing through was more than I
could stand. He is part of my youth and I treasure the fact that he is
still around and still spinning his humor.
Barry Fireman
From: Michael E. Rothman j-rothman@neiu.edu
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 12:55:14 -0600
Jim,
My next door neighbor works for Playboy Publishing, (cut the jokes). In the
past I have asked him for a list of Shep's articles so I could read the
ones I missed. The other day it occured to me to ask him if these were on
their web page, and if not could they be added or allow them to be posted
on another site. I'll keep you posted as to the progress.
Keep up the great work on this wonderful site.
Excellceior you fat head, Keep your knees loose!
Dr. Michael E. Rothman
New e mail address:
j-rothman@neiu.edu
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 17:53:18 -0400 (EDT)
From: Nik Kierniesky <kiernies@msmary.edu>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Jean Shephard Site
Dear Jim,
Like so many others, I to am crawling out of the woodwork to praise
your web site on Jean Shepard. I suspect that this is appropriate use of
language, since one of Shep's favorite animals was the cockroach. As a
student of animal behavior, I have strong memories of his oral treatise on
the cockroach from the early to mid 1960s. Shep's thesis was that if
the intelligence of a species is defined as the ability to survive, the
various species of cockroach are the most intelligent. He provided all
kinds of evidence, including the mastery of the oceans (via submarines)
and the beginnings of space travel (evidence of cockroaches finding their
way onto the early NASA flights).
Very early Shep broadcasts are not commercially available. However, I
believe that more than a few fans on this list have recordings of the
early Shep years on WOR (1955-1965). I would love to get some of these at
cost or trade.
Back in the 1980s, WOR donated a huge load of transcriptions and tapes
to the Library of Congress. Does anyone know if they included early
Shepard and Long John Nebel programs? Has the L of C done anything with
these tapes?
-Nik Kierniesky (in search of his youth!)
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 23:16:22 -0700
From: "David Grosof" <grosof@cid.wustl.edu>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
I cannot express how deeply I have been moved visiting the Web Gang at
your and Kaye's Web pages tonight.
Before I forget, I wish to note something I did not yet run across in
the mail or in the FAQ: in early 1993 or possibly within the year
preceding, some little New Jersey public television station broadcast a
Shep-narrated, and seemingly Shep-written documentary-special about a
New Jersey state highway, # 56 I think. I do not think it was adapted
from the America of Jean Shepherd series. The signal quality on UHF was
horrendous (at least in Manhattan) so I could not even get the date it
was made. There was definitely a New Jersey state
arts/education/do-gooder imprimatur on the thing, again suggesting that
it was not simply edited from the big national Shep series.
Does this ring a bell?
If so, please satisfy my curiousity and let me know.
Are there any bootleg or home-recorded videos of "Phantom of the Open
Hearth"? That was truly wonderful and I understand it to be tangled in
rights disputes. There ought to be a legal way to give it away if no one
is allowed to make a profit on it? And 'fair use' for fanatics?
Thanks,
David Grosof
age 35
2d generation Shep fan and Night Person
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 00:04:38 -0700
From: "David Grosof" <grosof@cid.wustl.edu>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Press coverage of Shep (corrected); Shep sighting on TV
Does anyone have a copy of a Wall Street Journal feature article on Shep
from the early to mid 70s? It was on the front page and illustrated with
a drawn portrait. It was pretty hip, and recounted some of the great
stories, such as the "Excelsior," the spontaneous protest after he was
fired, etc.
On the TV show "Nightline," for a July 4 show celebrating the great day,
(year: 1994?), Shep exalted the joys of Maine lobster in Bar Harbor with
a delighted Ted Koppel. He was exuberant and funny.
David Grosof
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 14:54:39 -0500
From: "Harry T. Stone" <usdyver@execpc.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Jean Sheperd
Jim,
I have been a long time Sheperd fan. I listened to him on WOR in the
70's and have tried to keep up with him thru the years. I have been
trying for years to find a song he played often on his radio program. If
I rember correctly it was named "THe Bear missed the train", DO you
remember it, and if you do is it included on any of his audio tapes?
I'll send you a humorous story innvolving me and Shep. Thats for
another time.
Thanks
Harry T.
Date: Tue, 24 Jun 1997 15:20:17 -0400
From: Ken Ashin <ashin@nvsoft.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Jean Shepherd at Princeton
Hi Jim -
I didn't catch the May 31, 1996 concert, but I think I may have caught
the 1st one - during my Freshman year (1959-1960).
I was supposed to go to some sort of physics honor event that
evening, so, earlier in the day, I went into the hall where he
was to speak and wrote a note for Jean on the blackboard - to
the effect that I was from Little Silver, New Jersey where he
had had his 1st Spanish omelette while in the Signal Corps at
Ft. Monmouth. (See, I was really an avid fan).
Then I broke down and stayed for his talk anyway. I guess he
did a good job, but I suffered 2 disappointments:
1. He never noticed my remark on the board.
2. When I asked him what I though was a fair question
(when and how had he shifted from an initial conventional
style in radio to his current, unique approach) he responded
as if I were some kind of nut and said I reminded him of a kid at
the U of P who had expected him to answer the question "OK, Shepherd,
what's it all about?" ... Huh?
But, before that, as a child, listening to him evenings on WOR? That
was golden.
Ken Ashin, 1963
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 1997 21:59:29 -0700
From: Fred Chesson <fchesson@snet.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
I have many pleasant memories of listening to Shep from WOR after the
11 PM news. He came in over a Model ARB Navy Aircraft receiver, made
by RCA Camden c 1942. The set is still going strong. Hope Shep is
too! I heard he was a Silent Key not too long ago....
Fred Chesson Waterbury, CT
From: Peggy A. Jachowdik Chenoweth <greybird@phoenixat.com>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Radio Memories
Date: Fri, 4 Jul 1997 11:27:45 -0000
Your website is wonderful. It was my husband who suggested that I surf the
net for Shep-related websites, and I am glad he did.
In the late 1960s I was a high school student on LI, and since my world was
rather narrow and my life rather mundane (a word, by the way, I learned
from Shep) my cultural experience was nil. I would dream of leaving the
Island some day and of traveling to parts (then) unknown (to me). In the
meanwhile, though, I would have to be content to Dx on my AM/FM/SW radio,
and on one of those occasions I happened upon WOR, and one of Shep's
broadcasts. My life would never be the same.
I didn't know anyone like him. No one in my family appeared to have a
sense of humor. Shep was the first person I had ever heard who could make
up words to songs. I admired that greatly, and made several attempts to
emulate the behavior; however, it wasn't until I married my husband (who is
also gifted along those lines) that I finally began to master the skill. I
went out and bought numerous Jew's-harps because Shep played one. I also
was the proud owner of an assortment of kazoos, again, courtesy of Shep. I
loved his stories of his childhood in Indiana, and his adventures in the
SIgnal Corps.
When I saw the first line of Jim's webpage, "Flick Lives!" I knew I was in
the right place. When Shep recruited we, his loyal listeners, to plaster
that slogan wherever we could, I typed up hundreds of small green labels
and posted then in the halls of my high school. I discovered that my 11th
grade English teacher, Ed Packert (who also taught at Wagner College) was a
Shep fan. I wonder if he has ever visited this website. He was a dynamite
teacher, and it was neat to find out that a teacher shared one of the same
interests I did. Listening to Shep was not for the mainstream everyday
type of person; you had to be have a real appreciation for the artistic and
look at life slightly differently than most to truly benefit from his
wisdom.
I remember when he advertised his press conference for kids at the Overseas
Press Club. I managed to get one of those coveted invitations, but alas,
could persuade no one to take me there. It is one of the great
disappointments of my youth.
I can see from the names listed on the Contributors Hall of Fame that most
of the posts here are from male-types. I know that I got at least one of
my girlfriends from the time to listen to Shep, and I am certain that there
are more of us out there than most people realize.
I could go on and on about my memories of Jean Shepherd, but time and space
do not allow. I miss him greatly. We, of course, have a copy of "A
Christmas Story", which has become a family favorite, and I have some of
his books. My kids are now older than I was when I first discovered Shep,
and it is a dirty rotten shame there is no one like him for them to listen
to. There is no doubt that I will be ordering several tapes so I can
relive those glorious days of my uncomplicated youth.
Thanks again for the website! Flick Lives! Excelsior!
Peggy A. Jachowdik Chenoweth
Date: Sun, 06 Jul 1997 19:29:48 -0500
From: Ruth Neubert <neuberts@kdsi.net>
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Enjoyment of the utmost!
Thanks to Jean Shepherd, Christmas is even more special with the uplifting and hopeful
story told in "A Christmas Story". Each time I watch this movie, I again feel the
anticipation I felt as a youngster on Christmas morning...Would this be the year that I
would get that 'most treasured' gift?
Emotions run the gamut; laughter when Randy "has to go" JUST after his mom gets him
COVERED for the outside elements...trepidation when 'the bully' comes after all of
them...laughter with 'ffuuddggee' and the tongue on the post [haven't we all been stupid
enough to accept a dare?]...and best of all, complete satisfaction and happiness that
Ralphie got his "Red Rider"!
This movie makes you feel as if YOU ARE RALPHIE...again young at heart and
deliriously happy...
A million thank-you's to Jean Shepherd!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Ruth Neubert
Oskaloosa, Iowa
From: Neal Buddenberg Nealbudd@aol.com
Date: Sat, 12 Jul 1997 00:19:04 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: More on JS
I've been purusing your great website all evening. I found a copy of Fistful
at a 2nd hand store a couple of weeks ago, and when I finished it last night,
It dawned on me there MUST be a website to immortalize Jean Shepherd. Went
online about 4 hours ago, left a note then , logged off and felt
irrisistably drawn back for more.
Question: Does any one know the story of his perpetrating the human
pyramid at parking lot B at Jones Beach one fine Saturday afternoon? Heard
he caused a near riot and subsequently got canned from the station he was at
. I've only heard bits and pieces of that one, and would like to get the
whole story sometime.
Also, are the stories of the Nome Nugget and the drunken parrot
anywhere in print or on tape?
See what you've done? Help! And Thanks......
Neal Buddenberg KF4IQL
From: DKANIEWSKI@aol.com
Date: Mon, 4 Aug 1997 21:38:12 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Shep
Thanks to you and the other site on the net, i have reconnected with a true
love: Shep! I hope you are sharing these notes from fans with him, even if
he doesn't read them he ought to know that a generation of night people still
remember and more importantly care very deeply. I guess I have three brief
items to share, like many others the transistor under under the covers is one
I share but will skip.
When I went to college I found the first two years very different and
unconnected with my previous life and overall quite an adjustment to the real
world of adulthood. Then in my sophmore year, I think, I went home for
Thanksgiving. After dinner I was feeling disconnected from my family too.
So I took the old man's car for a ride. I don't believe he owned a car with
FM radio until I left college. So on a dark November night on a lonely ride
along the Delaware from Trenton to New Hope, Pa. I listened to a story about
herding turkeys. Shep was stuck behind a herd of turkeys on a country road
and when it came to a T he realized that he was behind two herds of turkeys,
and the two farmers divided their herds... a Shep classic and one I'm
surprised isn't available on tape. Also, in one of the TV shows in a
discussion of his Signal Corp days at Fort Dix he digresses to discuss the
Churchill Loft, The carrier pigeon Hall of Fame. Is there such a place? I
also remember Route 22 (home of all the Robert Hall's and yard ornaments
sales yards.
In my Junior (71) year Shep came to The American University in Washington
D.C. For over two hours he talked, took requests and answered questions. An
incredible performance.
Finally, the search for Shep. The TV and movies have been great. But where
is he? No new articles, books, critical praise, lost genius articles (ala the
Washington Post Style section). The TV and films get passing mention but I
must say that the lack of critical appraisal for a body of work that makes
him the premier story teller of America, is disappointing. Nobody I know
Knows him. The cruel media of the 90s has no time to discuss a man who
rewarded us all with the fullness of life's rich pageant just for listening.
I'm ordering tapes, I'll stay in touch on the web and I'm calling Princeton
to get my tickets for May.
From: Bill Ihling WIhling@aol.com
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 20:47:22 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: in god we trust....
dear jim,
just another one of shep's fans checking in to say thanks for putting
together a shep site on the web. i treasure the memories of all those
pre-adolescent nights, secretly pressing my 9 transistor philco radio
(slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes) to my ear as i eagerly
anticipated hearing my hero weave his tales on WOR-AM. i was one of those
fortunate enough to attend his press conference at the overseas press club in
1969 (or thereabouts). shep's influence on my youth was profound indeed.
thanks again.
bill ihling
From: Mattalanne@aol.com
Date: Wed, 6 Aug 1997 22:27:22 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Jean, what else?
Great to find this reference to the biggest influence on my life!
Who can remember the show where he said tomorrow (a Saturday) everyone in
Rhode Island (or was it the entire country) should at 12 noon jump up and
down and make ?? make what I can't remember.
Well, on Saturday I was in RI on a 17' boat spearfishing with friends. I
climbed on board around noon and in my fins jumped up and down. Don't ask, I
said.
Who can remember his reading poems of Robert Service? Though i'm 60, I have
my 15 year old memorizing the "Cremation of Sam Mcgee" for a school
declamation.
Now that loyalty.
From: Craig Peters CPBarnum@aol.com
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 12:23:43 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: THANK YOU!
I am thrilled beyond description to have found your page.
I grew up listening to Shepherd on WOR in the late-60s and early-70s, and
have been searching for years for tapes of the radio shows (the Shepherd's
Pie audio tapes of Shep reading his stories just don't cut it, I'm afraid,
although my vinyl copy of The Declassified Jean Shepherd has gotten some
serious play over the years). I am anxiously looking forward to ordering and
enjoying the available tapes on the site.
For some reason, Shep making fun of old WOR jingles sticks in my mind: "W, W,
W, W, somebody stop me *pop* O R" And as far as writers, Shepherd remains in
the top three of all-time for my taste (Harlan Ellison is another, and the
third spot tends to revolve), and continues to make me laugh out loud even if
I'm reading a story for the 50, 60, or 70th time. It is an enduring sore
point that my mom lent my autographed copy of Wanda Hickey to her friend ...
who promptly lost it.
At any rate, thank you for your efforts on the web page. I'm looking forward
to exploring and ordering. You truly have made my day!
Craig Peters
CPBarnum@aol.com
From: CPBarnum@aol.com
Date: Thu, 7 Aug 1997 14:57:13 -0400 (EDT)
To: jsadur@keyflux.com
Subject: Hello, again!
Just a follow-up note to report that I've done all too little work today as
I've been exploring the site and wandering the dusty corners of my memory in
search of Shepherd tidbits. In reading some of the postings, I've yet to see
mention (though I'm sure it's there; I'm working my way backwards from volume
eight) of Shep's Car & Driver column in the '70s: I've NEVER been a car
enthusiast, but I subscribed to C&D for a couple of years JUST to read his
pieces! Tremendous! Also, I attended a wonderful appearance in Rockville
Center, NY, about six or seven years ago: Shep spoke at a local school, and
my wife and I went to dinner before the show. At the next table: Shep and the
people who, evidently, set up the event. Not wanting to be an obnoxious fan,
I let him enjoy his meal, but I've always regretted a little bit not taking
the opportunity to shake his hand and thank him for his work.
Once again, thanks for the web page ... and greetings to Shep fans
everywhere! Let's keep this page vital and growing!
Do you have stories, anecdotes or trivia for this page?
Send them to: 
jsadur@keyflux.com
Thanks, Jim
Return to the Jean Shepherd Page
Copyright © 1997 James E. Sadur.