Jack Sh*t: Voluptuous Bagels and Other Concerns of Jack Friedman
About this ebook
This is that story. The early years — and by early, I mean his 80s.
Voluptuous Bagels and Other Concerns of Jack Friedman is the first volume (there will be three) of my conversations, arguments, buffets, and philosophical musings with my father from the years 2004-2014. There was the “The Mob,” the survivors group of those who buried their spouses, the bowling, the mortgage he got at 84, the possible death of Bernie, the coupons, the long-suffering Jeannette, who buried two husbands, and always the toupees, many kept in boxes in the bedroom, garage, and sometimes out on a table.
“I was 16 two weeks ago, Barry. Where did it all go?”
Jack Friedman, in his 80s and 90s, couldn’t hear, didn’t listen, had no short-term memory, and mostly didn’t care.
It was the perfect time for a son to be re-introduced to his father.
As my sister, his daughter, whose name he couldn’t always keep straight, said about our father’s approach to life, “He’s always been like this."
I should have started the book sooner.
About the author
An essayist, reporter, and political columnist, Barry Friedman’s work has appeared in Esquire, where he has co-hosted "The Politics Blog with Charles P. Pierce" (Pierce in fact gave him the name "Friedman of the Plains"); The Progressive Populist; Inside Media; The Las Vegas Review-Journal; and AAPG EXPLORER, a magazine for petroleum geologists, which is all the more noteworthy, considering he knows little about petroleum geology and has hurt himself pumping his own gas. Further, Barry has appeared in national commercials, a few local ones, including a local pizza joint, which featured him lying on his back, facing and barking at a pizza. He does radio commentary on Public Radio and appeared in UHF with “Weird Al" Yankovic, setting the bar for all those who might someday play a character named "Thug #2." The movie still provides him with $3.76 residual checks every time it plays at some Lithuanian drive-in.
