He was 96.
Honestly, I don't know much about the actual man. The flesh and blood, true-life human. He was an author. A historian. Beyond that, I couldn't tell you much about him. However, I can tell you that I've met many imaginary Studs over the past few months. How? Well, it stems from the fact that the Professor, like Mr. Terkel, is also a historian. Somewhere along the line, she picked up a copy of Mr. Terkel's book Hard Times. It was something she had good intentions to read.
It has never been read.
And, when it came time for us to move from Boston to West Hartford, the paperback never made its way into a proper box for travel. Instead, it sat out in the open, a single bound opus left to fend for itself against the world. We ended up hand-carrying it to our new home.
Hard Times then sat, bouncing from one cushioned piece of furniture to another, while our other belongings suffocated between layers of corrugated cardboard. Besides television, it was the only tangible thing in our apartment that could provide entertainment.
This is about the time the legend of Studs began to take shape.
You see, as we unpacked, we constantly saw the name "Studs Terkel" as we sifted through dishes and clothes. It was as if the book was patiently waiting for the rest of its brethren to be freed and to inhale Nutmeg air.
So, we began to create a series of characters.
Who was this "Studs Terkel?"
To us, many things. A secret agent one day. A high stakes poker champion the next. We would create nonsense songs about Studs. Ladies man. Wall Street tycoon. Professional jet-ski racer.
The man, in our delirious state of unpacking, did it all. It got to the point where we didn't WANT to open the book, to find out who the real Studs Terkel was. For, the real Studs could never match our fictionalized creations.
But, I'm sad to hear that his original incarnation is no more. Though he was most likely never any of the things we imagined, I sure the real Studs Terkel was a pretty decent man.
So, so long Studs. You may no longer roam the Earth, but you just won a really tough jet-ski race in my mind.
Posts
2 comments:
For the record, I think at one point I mentioned that Studs recorded oral histories from people which were about the Great Depression. Exciting, but not nearly as cool as tycoon-turned-secret agent.
I would recommend reading Terkel's Working. It's a fascinating read of interviews he conducted with people of a wide variety of professions (priest, gravedigger, prostitute, musician, writer, etc.). It's a cool book.
And Studs Terkel is a name that definitely lends itself to many imaginative things.
Post a Comment