Our eighth event, “Remembering Keel,” took place on a sunny Sunday afternoon. We had somewhat of a small crowd, thanks to the World Cup (which we certainly didn’t anticipate when we reserved the space months ago).
Doug opened the ceremonial ullage: for this occasion, we chose John’s favorite drink, a diabetic protein shake.
Lisa read a piece John wrote for his hometown paper when he was 15, and excerpts from some of his work for men’s magazines in the ’50s; and joined Doug in reading a brief proposal for a film, “Nudists from Outer Space.” Doug read from a proposal for a sequel to John’s first book, Jadoo; Anthony read a bit from John’s novel Three Women. Our guest, Larry “Ratso” Sloman, read another proposal John submitted to the National Lampoon when Ratso was editor.
The audience was also treated to a promotional song for Jadoo; a clip from one of John’s radio shows for the Armed Forces Network; a film from the ’60s, featuring John as a drunk in the Museum of Modern Art; and video interviews with George Kuchar and David Letterman.
Of course, the day before the anniversary of John’s death, my computer, printer, and scanner all stopped working. But that’s to be expected. That Keelian chaos can’t be stopped by something as paltry as death.
So thanks to all; and extra thanks to Anthony and to Geoff Brady for audio and video preparation.
(Posted by Doug Skinner)
6 responses so far ↓
1 Gail // Jul 21, 2010 at 7:25 am
that tribute was certainly more of a treat to me compared to the “World Cup”. I liked the opening of the diabetic protein shake and the drunken zig zag walk around late 50’s early 60’s Manhattan and picturing him standing in front of a big James Rosenquist painting at MOMA.
2 Doug // Jul 22, 2010 at 1:00 pm
I do wish we’d had vuvuzelas to cheer John’s drunk as he takes on ’60s art. There’s another charming film from ’64, in which he repeatedly loses his place in line at the World’s Fair. Maybe next time.
3 Angela // Jul 23, 2010 at 10:34 am
I’m glad there were no vuvuzelas. The event was perfect as was the post-show dinner. Thanks again for bringing the worm painting.
4 Gail // Jul 23, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I adore the idea of losing ones’ place at the ’64 Worlds Fair. (I spent a lot of time as a child there, growing up in Queens at that time.) Would love to see it!
5 William J. Grabowski // Jul 18, 2014 at 12:24 am
Wish I could have been there! Just discovered this wonderful, fun site, Doug.
6 Doug // Jul 18, 2014 at 9:35 am
Thanks, Bill! We started this as a fortean group, but it’s changed to accommodate other curiosities. We haven’t done an event for a while, but just met to plan one on one of Fort’s favorite subjects, volcanoes. The event for John was the closest we could come to organizing a memorial service.