Jean Shepard Lives!

Around this time every year, we begin to hear the familiar sounds of Christmas on the radio as we begin our journey into the holiday season. On television, timeless movies we all know and love return to the screen and rekindle memories of Christmas past. One film in particular, and one of my favorites, is the now classic "A Christmas Story". When I first saw this movie many years ago, I was pleasently surprissed to find that the narrator was none other than the author himself, Jean Shepard. Growing up in the late 60's and early 70's, I would go to sleep at night listening to talk radio. WOR AM in New York seemed to grab my attention with it's various personalities including Joe Franklin, John Wingate and the great Jean Shepard. Shep would mesmorize me with his stories on everything from his childhood friends, his time in the service or simply an ad in the New York Times. I never forgot those stories. It's funny how some things stay with you throughout your life. Recently I found people on EBAY selling MP3's containing almost every show Shepard did on the radio. Over 520 hours. It's like I found a key to my past. Even though his life ended six years ago, Jean Shepard lives in the hearts of fans all over the world. And now we can listen to him all over again.