Thom Black
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: February 15, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1979
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 445
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John Austin
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: February 21, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1971
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 453
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Braxton Blake
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: April 12, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 2001
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 537
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Dick Vile
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: October 17, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1966
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 713
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Alex Klooster
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: September 25, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1953
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 828
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Comments:
I listened to Jean Shepherd late at night from KYW Philladelphia in 1952-53. I was in my bedroom with the lights out. My folks thought I was sleeping. I remember the "Fig Newton 8" was the car that the "upper crust types" were driving. Piasecki Helicopter was one of the sponsors. I lost track of Shep untill I recognized the voice in the "Christmas Story".
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Kurt Ringquist
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: February 09, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1970
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 880
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Comments:
My cousin told me about Jean Shepherd when I was about 12 but I soon got into listening to him way more than my cousin ever did. Listening to some of his shows recently has made me appreciate his talents more than I did back then.
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Gordon Gnas
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: March 16, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1982
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 916
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Comments:
I've been trying for close to 20 years to get copies of the Jean Shepherd movies done for WGBH a PBS station. Especially "The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters". I've contacted WGBH, the movies are in their library, but won't release them. I would deeply appreciate it if anyone out there has a tape I can buy, or knows where I could get one.
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frank maly
ann arbor, Michigan |
Joined: April 15, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1971
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 948
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Comments:
The Best Story Teller of the 20th century.
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frank maly
ann arbor, Michigan |
Joined: May 19, 2006 |
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Shep fan since: 1966
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1668
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Comments:
Duke Huan was reading in the upper part of his hall and Wheelwright Flat was hewing a wheel in the lower part. Setting aside his hammer and chisel, the wheelwright went to the upper part of the hall and inquired of Duke Huan, saying, "I venture to ask what words Your Highness is reading?"
"The words of the sages," said the duke.
"Are the sages still alive?"
"They're already dead," said the duke.
"Then what my lord is reading are merely the dregs of the ancients."
"How can you, a wheelwright, comment upon what I am reading?" asked Duke Huan. "If you can explain yourself, all right. If you cannot explain yourself, you shall die."
"I look at it from my own occupation," said Wheelwright Flat. "If the spokes are loose, they'll fit sweet as a whistle but the wheel won't be solid. If they're too tight, you won't be able to insert them no matter how hard you try. To make them neither too loose nor too tight is something you sense in your hand and feel in your heart. There's a knack to it that can't be put into words. I haven't been able to teach it to my own son, and my son hasn't been able to learn it from me. That's why I'm still hewing wheels after seventy years. When they died, the ancients took with them what they couldn't transmit. So what you are reading are the dregs of the ancients."
-- Zhuangzi
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Ann Marie Damon
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: November 02, 2006 |
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Shep fan since: 2002
Discovered Shep: Read one of his books
Guest No: 1816
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Comments:
I look forward to reading the book as soon as I can get a copy of I, Libertine.
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Michael Paul Goldenberg
Ann Arbor, Michigan |
Joined: June 17, 2007 |
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Shep fan since: 1964
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 2202
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Comments:
Used to stay up late to hear the show as often as I could get away with it. WOR in NYC, if memory serves (and it so rarely does). I'm pleased to say that I learned about a lot of great things from that show, including the poetry of Robert W. Service. My son, Zane, who is 12, recently decided to write a poem in Service's style for a school assignment. He needed a lot of help from me. Interested? Feel free to contact me for a copy of THE LONESOME DEATH OF NATE McMACKEY.
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K Pawlak
Battle Creek, Michigan |
Joined: December 18, 2006 |
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Shep fan since: 1974
Discovered Shep: Read one of his books
Guest No: 1867
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Comments:
In high school I worked part-time at a small neighborhood branch library. Picked up "In God We Trust-All Others Pay Cash," and would laugh out loud as I was reading it.
I remember watching "The Phantom of the Open Hearth" with my Dad on PBS. Then of course, the "Christmas Story" phenomenon happened in the 90's.
Therefore, some of the chapters in the book "came to life" and are so true to the original book.
Mentioned to my wife the other day that the Christmas Story House has been redone to look like it was in the movie. She immediately put it on our calendar for a road trip visit in 2007.
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Rich Farkas
Bloomfeld Hills, Michigan |
Joined: July 22, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1966
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 648
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Alison Labanowski
Comstock Park, Michigan |
Joined: April 30, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 2001
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 553
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Moonchild Diva
Detroit, Michigan |
Joined: March 10, 2006 |
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Shep fan since: 1983
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 1647
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Comments:
Listened to the gravy boat story today read by Jean while driving alone for a few hours. What great company!! I love the way he laughs at his own stories, it's SWEET. And of course, I love out loud, too! Rest in peace, and thanks for the great stories. You could really tell one, I swear.
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Bill Haggerty
East Lansing, Michigan |
Joined: February 18, 2000 |
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Shep fan since: 1957
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 4
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Rod Dewey
Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Joined: June 21, 2000 |
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Shep fan since: 1984
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 129
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Curt *******
Grand Rapids, Michigan |
Joined: June 12, 2009 |
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Shep fan since: 1990
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 2866
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Linda Harmon
Grosse Ile, Michigan |
Joined: December 25, 2008 |
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Shep fan since: 1983
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 2815
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Bill Johnson
Grosse Pointe, Michigan |
Joined: September 18, 2000 |
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Shep fan since: 1991
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 165
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Alan D'Augustine
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan |
Joined: March 17, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1965
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 517
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Alan D'Augustine
Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan |
Joined: November 21, 2004 |
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Shep fan since: 1964
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1349
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Comments:
I used to listen to the original WOR shows with a transistor radio when I was in high school.
The line... "Hey Martie, shove your head outta da window and maybe da stink'll go away..." is the hook that grabbed me.
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Alan Labovitz
Haslett, Michigan |
Joined: April 01, 2004 |
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Shep fan since: 1951
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1244
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Comments:
I used to listen to Shep out of WOR when I was in high school in Phila. I remember his Haiku with music. He also had everyone listening go to a corner of the room (north, south, east or west) to try to tilt the planet. When they tried to stop folk singing in the park in NY City, he had his listeners go to the park and "mill" for several hours quietly.
What a way to pass time as a high school student.
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Ed Shankman
kalamazoo, Michigan |
Joined: December 16, 2000 |
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Shep fan since: 1961
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 343
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Kit Kolenda
Kentwood, Michigan |
Joined: January 16, 2004 |
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Shep fan since: 1960
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1202
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Comments:
My older brother used to listen to Jean Shepherd and got me started. I was about 19 and lived in NY. On Jan 20, 1986, after purchasing a couple of books, I brought them over to Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI where Shep was going to do a book signing. He was doing a series of talks at the college for the winter break. While he waited about 15-20 for a chair we had a nice chat since I was first on line . It was the day the Challanger went down. Also got to hear him speak as a member of the audience at Calvin College. Later I called my brother and said "guess who I talked to today"...honest truth...he said "Jean Sheherd". Amazing.
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Sue Betz Betz
Lambertville, Michigan |
Joined: August 20, 2000 |
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Shep fan since: 2000
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 161
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Rich Jones
Manchester, Michigan |
Joined: October 23, 2004 |
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Shep fan since: 1973
Discovered Shep: Saw his TV show
Guest No: 812
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Comments:
73 Magazine site led me here. I sure do miss Jean Shepherd. His stories about growing up and his old man
will forever be remembered.
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Bill Bucko
Mt Clemens, Michigan |
Joined: February 17, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: Read his Playboy short stories
Guest No: 885
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Comments:
Thanks so much for the website—-and for the links to nostalgic photos of Hammond! I was born in neighboring East Chicago in 1948, grew up in the Hessville area of Hammond, and went to Warren G Harding Elementary School from 1954-1963, about 19 years after Jean Shepherd did. In my time I too had to dodge a “notorious son of a bitch,” as I walked to school every day down Cleveland Street—-though this one, fortunately, was less of a menace than the one Flick dredged up! I attended the brick building shown in your photos from KG through 6th grade, then spent Junior High (7th and 8th grade) in the earlier, still-existing “portable” Harding which must have been the 1924 building Shepherd attended. The “portable” was located on Cleveland Street, at the west end of the block immediately northwest of the brick building. Parrish Avenue and a large unfenced blacktop playground separated the two. [If you’re interested, I’ll sketch a map and send it to you.]
This building was always called “the portable,” and I believe it was said it had once stood where the brick building now stands—-though it’s hard to imagine such a large structure being moved. It was all wood, entirely painted white on the outside. It was one story tall with a flat roof, and quite roomy, with high ceilings, large windows, and wide corridors floored with shiny polished wood in some spots, though worn down to the bare wood in others. There were blackened iron hooks for hanging coats, instead of lockers. (Doesn’t Shepherd mention the odor of twenty wet coats and snowsuits hanging in a row, somewhere?) The floor was raised several feet above ground level, and you entered by climbing wide wooden stairs. All in all it was a pleasant place, though somewhat drafty, and I have vague memories of a few unscheduled holidays due to boiler problems. The janitor, I’m sure, must have been a furnace-fighter, just like the Old Man! The building was shaped like a U, with the open end pointing east toward the portable’s playground, and beyond that, across Parrish Avenue, to the large blacktop playground to the north of the brick building. The northeast corner of the block was a lightly wooded area, which by adult edict was off limits during recess. I’ve seen no photograph of the portable, though if I ever come across one I’ll be glad to share it. Unfortunately the chance that it still stands must be nil—-if the barbarians have torn down even Goldblatt’s and Woolworth’s, I don’t think they would have spared the portable!
The small library of about 400 books (which Shepherd must have frequented) was one end (the north wall) of a regular classroom about in the middle of the U. All shelves were of good dark wood. The bottom of the U was about 8 classrooms long.
Oh—-in case you’re wondering—-the playground, as I have said, was to the east of the U, while the flagpole was near the corner of Cleveland Street, at the lower right (southwest) corner of the U. During my years there I heard no stories of any untoward incidents at the flagpole. Though, if the “portable” really had been moved from an earlier location, the arrangement there may have been different ... As you’ve gathered, the real Harding looked nothing like the school used in filming “A Christmas Story.”
Flick’s Tavern stood, and apparently still stands, just north of the intersection of Kennedy Avenue and 165th Street. In my time it stood next to a used car lot. I remember our family buying groceries at the mom-and-pop store (appropriately called “Pop’s”) across the street, all through the 50’s and 60’s. Though I don’t know what they’ve done to Kennedy Avenue—-what I can see in the photos looks nothing like what it used to be.
Thanks for the memories, and best wishes,
Bill Bucko
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Bill Bucko
Mt Clemens, Michigan |
Joined: February 17, 2003 |
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Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: Read his Playboy short stories
Guest No: 886
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Comments:
Addition to my previous comment:
I just took a close look at your photo of the Shepherd house, at 2907 Cleveland Street. I recognize the site, thanks to the old brick structure immediately to the left! This was said to be a former Fire Station that had been converted into a residence--and judging by its appearance, that did sound plausible. The Fire Station and Jean's house would be the first two houses on the north side of the street. The intersection to the west (left, just out of picture) was a 5-way intersection, appropriately dubbed "Five Points." The Harding School "portable" would be to the east (right of picture) two very, very long blocks away (more like four regular blocks, especially to a kid trudging through snow). As you can see, the houses on these two blocks sit on high raised terraces, and the whole street in the 1950's had plenty of trees. Kennedy Avenue, the main north-south throroughfare of Hessville, is just one block to the west. During the fifties, this stretch of Kennedy Avenue held: a tavern, a barber shop, a hobby shop ("Pint Size"), a used car dealership, a heating/airconditioning shop, and a tiny trailer court--all interspersed with weed-grown vacant lots, fun for kids on bikes to cruise. Flick's Tavern is pretty close--about two blocks to the south, on the far side of Kennedy Avenue. The steel mills that Flick had to thank for much of his thirsty clientele are due north, about four or five miles.
Hope you find this interesting!
Bill
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Bill Bucko
Mt. Clemens, Michigan |
Joined: November 26, 2005 |
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Shep fan since: 1968
Discovered Shep: Read his Playboy short stories
Guest No: 1516
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Comments:
Hello, New and conclusive documentation has come to light, on the original location of Flick's Tap. Mr Clavin was right. For details, go to this site's Discussion Forum > General Talk > General Shep Related Chatter > Flick's Tap.
Warren G Harding Class of '63
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Rolf Thun
New Buffalo, Michigan |
Joined: June 20, 2006 |
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Shep fan since: 1965
Discovered Shep: Read his Playboy short stories
Guest No: 1679
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Comments:
His stories so closely paralleled the actual workings of a kids thought patterns, it seems as though all young boys minds are part of the universal shepherd mind. So funny!
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Paul -
Redford, Michigan |
Joined: April 11, 2007 |
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Shep fan since: 1983
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 1973
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Comments:
Flick lives!
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Lori Umstead
Rockwood, Michigan |
Joined: December 31, 2007 |
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Shep fan since: 1983
Discovered Shep: Saw One of His Movies
Guest No: 2664
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Marianne Lewins
Royal Oak, Michigan |
Joined: March 14, 2005 |
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Shep fan since: 1992
Discovered Shep: Read one of his books
Guest No: 1451
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Bob Berens
Troy, Michigan |
Joined: August 13, 2004 |
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Shep fan since: 1972
Discovered Shep: On the Radio
Guest No: 1286
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Comments:
OK, picture this: Philly suburbs, mid 70's, yet another Friday night college party at an off-campus apartment. Beer (and cigarettes) everywhere, and a little weed, too. All of a sudden, at 11:00 PM, a group of us grab a fresh beer, depart into a bedroom, turn the lights out, and tune in, long distance, to WOR in New York. It's time for Shep! (the lights were off for better reception).
That's how I was introduced to Jean Shepherd, and to this day, his words of wisdom - and he had many - stay with me.
We were big fans, to say the least, and ultimately sponsored a Shepherd concert at our school, Villanova University, in 1974. The crowd was small, but loyal, and Shep did not dissapoint. It was a fantastic night, and we all got to meet him and even go out to dinner with him, afterward (regretfully, not a single picture was taken).
Shepherd, better than any other, captured the 20th century human experience, and showed that there was substance in even the most trivial experiences. And, in most cases, a good story.
I think that's all he ever wanted to do - tell a good story. His magic was that he found them everywhere.
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Deb Anderson
Whitmore Lake, Michigan |
Joined: March 15, 2005 |
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Shep fan since: 1975
Discovered Shep: Read his Playboy short stories
Guest No: 1454
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Comments:
Shep is the best! One of my favorite things he did was announce a huge parade not unlike Macy's, etc., except the parade was "The March of Time" and he described historical figures and events..... you had to be there but it was brilliant! Shep is a constant in my life and there's never been a time in my life where his movies, books, short-stories or albums hasn't been able to cheer me up. He's the under-rated genius of our time, he's a modern day Twain and O. Henry rolled into one. I sure miss him and wonder how much material we missed out on. I love you, Shep!
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Craig Fouchey
Yale, Michigan |
Joined: November 23, 2001 |
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Shep fan since: 1984
Discovered Shep:
Guest No: 748
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