Flicklives


Columns / Short Stories Shep was always writing. . .

August 1963
	Boredom as a Way of Life by: Jean Shepherd Issue No 42

I suspect that there is a great deal of misunderstanding about boredom, and what boredom means. A British writer recently made some comments about boredom as being one of the three major enemies of mankind in the 20th Century. However, I differ strongly with him on his conclusions regarding boredom. It's such a complex problem. Boredom, and the values of today, lend to some very very intriguing things...

[ Courtesy: Steve Glazer - 11-25-2016 ]

In 1984, this story appeared in a compilation of prior Realist stories titled "The Best of The Realist: The 60's Most Outrageously Irreverent Magazine." However, Shep's story was apparently edited (by him?), so it is not exactly the same, especially in the second half. (However, even the very first sentence of the original is missing in the later version.) I am now attaching the cover pages of the compilation and the 2-page edited 1984 version of the original 1963 story. Note that on page 17 it says "Lee Brown" [sic] transcribed the story verbatim from the tape of Shepherd's unscripted show.

Copyright: 1964 The Realist

Associated Documents

Type	File Name	Description
•	1984-mm-dd_093_Best_of_the_Realist.pdf	1984 Re-print

Links to Further Information:

• Original Story

"Can you imagine 4,000 years passing, and you're not even a memory?
Think about it, friends. It's not just a possibility. It is a certainty." - Jean Shepherd - 1975