tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post1529581181088966048..comments2024-03-28T15:05:10.372-05:00Comments on Every goddamn day: 03/28/24: Studs Terkel: Luminary for the little manNeil Steinberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-39747234402045335752018-11-01T16:42:09.148-05:002018-11-01T16:42:09.148-05:00I actually met him once. In the Eighties...at old ...I actually met him once. In the Eighties...at old Comiskey Park, of all places. After buying a hot dog and a beer, I spotted Studs at a pay phone. There was no mistaking him. He was talking to a man about a horse--in other words, placing a bet. When he hung up, I told him how much I admired his work, and for how long, and that I always listened to his radio show whenever I could. <br /><br />He'd probably heard it all a thousand times. Seemed a bit preoccupied and distracted. Might have been buzzed, even. Hell, why not? It was right around the time he won the Pulitzer for "The Good War"--my favorite. "I'd shake your hand, sir," I concluded. "But, as you can see, they're pretty full." <br /><br />He took the stogie out of his mouth, looked at the hot dog and the beer, and said "Two good excuses...the best in the world!" And then he said what he always said when signing off: "Take it easy, kid...but take it!" and ambled away. Nobody else in that White Sox crowd seemed aware of him. He was just a rumpled white-haired seventysomething in a checkered shirt and red socks.<br />Thirty-plus years have raced by, and now I'm almost as old as he was that night.<br /><br />I was banging the phones for Obama when I heard about his death. Oh, to have been able to see his grin on Victory Night. Missed it by THAT much. One can't help but wonder what he'd be saying right now about His Orangeness, and about how history repeats itself, and especially about how we can never, ever give up.Grizz 65https://www.blogger.com/profile/02892702223228764894noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-62686860518858199602018-11-01T12:03:44.370-05:002018-11-01T12:03:44.370-05:00@Neil - Yes, though your two latest books — “You W...@Neil - Yes, though your two latest books — “You Were Never in Chicago” and “Out of the Wreck I Rise” — are far more than fun curiosities. One has a great deal of Chicago’s history, and the other is an inspirational selection of quotes to help those on their journey to addiction recovery.SandyKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14070366627628604352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-67283764893710447242018-11-01T10:05:44.056-05:002018-11-01T10:05:44.056-05:00There is a certain satisfaction, though I would ne...There is a certain satisfaction, though I would never compare the two. Books like "Working" and "The Good War" are important works of history. My books are fun curiosities.Neil Steinberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11468057838260476480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-85554192263044352062018-11-01T09:46:42.972-05:002018-11-01T09:46:42.972-05:00Neil - It must bring you some joy to know that man...Neil - It must bring you some joy to know that many enjoy your books and writings as they did his.Zonkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17924587109596922187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3972382144120426476.post-9377722275552361012018-11-01T02:58:49.546-05:002018-11-01T02:58:49.546-05:00Tired old cliche, i know, but Studs Truly was an o...Tired old cliche, i know, but Studs Truly was an original. I revisit his books often. <br />Hard Times and the Good War are works that i love. Paul Fedrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04384556977324071639noreply@blogger.com