
Part 26: "Here Comes Peter Cottontail."
Why did my father work so hard to get respect, fair treatment, and equal pay for hillbilly performers, only to squander his own money?

Part 25: A Bet on President Truman and A Bill Paid. Or maybe a bill was paid.
Richard told me that the night of his birth at the Doctor’s Hospital in Manhattan, Riley had made a bet that Truman would win the Presidency

Part 24: Living the Life of Riley
Victor Shepard had stories to tell. He loved to gossip. "Your father was the horniest man I've ever met," Victor said.

Part 23: Fact Checking, & Lying Liars, & The Lies They Tell, & Why They Lie
Here's what I grapple with. Did my father believe his lies sometimes, or lie so often that he became confused about reality?

Part 22: Making A Brand New Start of It, New York, New York
If I had to point to a time when my father had some prestige and success, it would've been the years from 1944-1948. He was young, talented,

Part 21: Live and In Person: Famous, Beautiful, and Talented.
Riley was young in the mid-1940s. New York offered him many fantastic opportunities to find work and meet new people.

Part 20: WWll, Chicago, and Those Wacky Lectures
Dad was in his early 20s when the war broke out, healthy as a horse, tall, handsome, articulate. So why didn't he serve in that war?

Part 19: This is the Blog Where I Attempt to List All of Riley Shepard's Pen Names...
Since masks are on everyone's mind around here, what better time to attempt to list all the names my father used throughout his life.

Part 18: Riley's Journal Fragments: "There is Suffering and Misery Everywhere Throughout America."
The most productive nation in the world, yet unable to properly feed, clothe, and shelter a third of its population. --- Riley Shepard 1938

Part 17: Riley's Early 20s and His Journal: A Look Back
“They had begun to consider the Government of the United States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by...