"Peapatch, Iowa"
Submitted by LynnS on Thu, 02/09/2006 - 7:52pm.

Many many years ago--like 20+--I interviewed Jean Shepherd, probably most famous for "A Christmas Story" for you young 'uns. I was something like 22 and a complete idiot, and he quickly turned that interview around on me--took complete control of it and wouldn't give it back. I still have no idea why; he was probably bored. Thank God it was on tape, if it had been live I would still be mortified.

At the time, Portland was still a secondary market. Shepherd said, "You're a bright young thing, when are you getting outta this market?" I replied I intended to stay, I loved Portland. "No, no, no," he said. "This isn't far enough above Peapatch, kid, you don't have far enough to fall. You start out in Peapatch, then you move to a market like this. From here you go to Chicago, or Los Angeles, and then you go to New York. Then when it's time to fall, you fall from New York to Chicago. And then Chicago to here. And from here to Peapatch. You stay here, when it's time to fall, you fall straight to Peapatch."

That whole interview just shook me. I knew he was right, and I began to wonder about this whole broadcast business. That wasn't the life I wanted.

Jean Shepherd was a character, and the ease with which he took that interview away from me still awes me all these years later. I wish I'd been old enough to appreciate that time with him.

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Lynn Siprelle * Former Innie * OMI Coordinator

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