Day 2: Jean Shepherd

Two weeks ago I went to a conference in Michigan. Matt also went to Michigan, but to Detroit. He picked me up on the way back and I managed to convince him to let us stop in Hammond, Indiana on the way back so I could pay homage to Jean Shepherd. Most everyone knows Jean Shepherd from the autobiographical film "A Christmas Story," which was based on his book "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash," which was compiled from short stories in Playboy, which were written versions of the stories he told on his radio program that ran in New York from the 1950s-1970s. Matt found some podcasts of his radio a couple of years ago. At the time I was suffering from insomnia brought on by the stress of grad school, etc. I couldn't fall asleep. I started listening to these at night as a distraction from my own worries and doubts. I found out that Shep is very much the genius that "A Christmas Story" would suggest. What is so appealing for me, and I suspect for others, in his descriptions of childhood, is the lack of nostalgia. There might be a superficial nostalgia, but really, the Shep's childhood is series of greater and lesser horrors. And yet it isn't full of self-pity either. There's a sense of authenticity about his child characters—life is real and full of hardships and small victories and yet completely ordinary. If you like "A Christmas Story," check out "Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss," when the family goes on vacation to Michigan.

Oh, and remember Flick, who got his tongue stuck to the frozen flagpole? He grew up and took over his dad's tavern, appropriately named: