So, you'll do just about anything on a dare, eh?

When Do We Get to Triple-Dog Dare?

I found this picture in an ad a while back. It reminded me of Jean Shepherd's movie, "A Christmas Story," one of my favorites. He's also the author of the movie "My Summer Story" (available on video), teleplays such as "The Star-Crossed Romance of Josephine Cosnowski" and "The Great American Fourth of July and Other Disasters," and novels such as A Fistful of Fig Newtons and In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. More info on Shep soon in this space.

In the meantime, perhaps you'd like to read the story of my special Christmas of a few years ago. It's on this page, titled The Iceman Cometh. Be sure to carry extra oxygen in with you.

Jean Shepherd at the mike ('60s poster; photo by my friend Rick)

"Large parts of the following are fiction; other parts are based on fact. Still others are pure mythology. Some characters are real, others are figments of a harassed imagination. To the real, I apologize. To the others, the back of my hand."