Nose Flutes, Bad Books, and Radio Parts
Airdate:
Thursday - November 18, 1965
WOR Show Original Airing
First Spoken Line After Theme Ends
(Opening Cut)
Show Description
Picking a book to read in school. Once you start, you cannot change. So Shep picks one written by a man, which he feels is a safe thing, and 8-1/2 milliseconds into the book his head begins to buzz, his foot's asleep, and his butt is itching.
Playing the Jews harp, Shep talks about learning to play an instrument when you are a kid. After all, you had to play something. Some kids played harmonicas, some played guitars and even some creative kids played rubber bands. He notes that 1 of every 4 soldiers in the Civil War carried a Jews Harp in their pocket. He also demonstrates the nose flute.
He plugs his story in Playboy, but misquotes the title as "Red Ryder Nails the Hammond Kid or Justice Gets the Evil Doer" (Correct title was - "Red Ryder Nails the Hammond Kid")
Back to the book he talks of the Ah Ha! Experience and how the book was about a miser, offering a Brass Figlagee to any caller who called in with the correct name of the book. One did, and it was "Silas Marner"
He tells a 'miser' story about when he was a kid and became fascinated with radios. Lawrence Striker built a radio in a cigar box. Flick, Schwartz, Bruner and Shep begin searching the garbage behind old radio shops for parts to trade. Schwartz gets hold of plans for a radio and the boys decide it's time to build one. Shep's worked, but barely, and he spent the next 17 days doing nothing but listening.
(Side story about the set of earphones he got from his Uncle, which were so heavy they stunted his growth.)
Next they decide to build a 1 tube amplifier and begin collecting parts. They acquired a lust for any radio parts they could find. They haunted all the stores in 'Radio Row' in Chicago. One day they go into a place called "Stanley's" and are offered their choice of any barrel of radio parts for $3.00. All winter they sorted through the parts dividing them up amongst themselves.
Brass Figlagee Award
"I will award the Brass Figlagee. . ."
• Any caller who called in with the correct name of the book he was talking about (Silas Marner)
• Shep describes a book he had to read as a kid and how horrible it was. After describing it, he offered the "Brass Figlagee" to the first caller to name the title. One caller did and he spoke to the caller asking how other books affected him.
