Eleven fatheads showed up at Second Avenue Deli today, waited
about 35 minutes for a table and a half, and proceeded to
consume copious quantities of pastrami, corned beef, matzo
ball soup, knishes, fries, and other goodies while talking about
our hero.

Those in attendance were:

Sharon (Doloresnocturne)
Mr. and Mrs. Imago from Kalamzoo
Jeff
Lou
Aaron
Isetta John
Lurker Bob
Max
Rat Girl
JoelB

The gathering was rather calm, since only I brandished a kazoo,
which I played to the delight of the maitress d, in an effort to
charm her to get us seated. One chorus of "The Bear missed the
train" and one chorus of America the Beautiful did the trick.

Lou brought a copy of the Hammond Ind. town census record
from 1930 bearing the names of the Shepherd family.  Shep's
mother was listed as Anna, his father as Jean,occupation a
cashier at the dairy company.  The Brunner's were listed as next
door neighbors.  Isetta John brought copies of photos he took of
the Christmas Story house and jeff distributed his usual bountry
of discs which were gladly received.

The gathering left the Deli at about 3 PM in good spirits, burping
all the way to the tune of the Sheik of Arabee.  Crowded seating
prevented Max, Rat Girl and I from sharing the table with the
other eight Fatheads, which I dearly regret, but I did have a
chance ot meet Mr. and Mrs. Imago and have some conversation
with everyone. 

Next time we must find a place that all of us can converse more
leisurely, which to me is the real fun of these gatherings (of
course I can get NY pastrami any time). Lady Snutella and her
beau were missed, as was Shadow Traffic who I thought was
coming. 

The gathering just confirmed for me what a diverse and really
interesting group of fans Shep collected and how much his
presence is still felt by us so long after he left the air.

Excelsior you fatheads!
JoelB
 

Photos