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...
Part 16: Women, a Nudist Lawyer, Colonel Tom Parker, and Hillbillies.
My Dad introduced me to Colonel Tom Parker, telling Parker that it was my 16th birthday."Oh? Sweet sixteen and never been kissed?"
Part 15: Women, Sid Grauman, and Hillbillies.
In 1937 I went to California. I felt the need to explore new possibilities. Sid Grauman saw me perform at a theater and agreed to be my agen
Part 14: Alma Anderson, Riley’s First Wife’s Suicide
When I was a little girl, Dad told me about Alma. He announced, out of the blue, that his first wife committed suicide.
Part 13: A Wedding, A Short Con, and Drifting
Riley started this journal late in life, maybe in the 1980s. With some pages, he begins with his age, then he includes not only personal...
Part 11: Writers, Thinkers, & the Past is Never Dead
In the 1960s and early 70s, my father was writing a series of sex books under the pen name Zachary Quill. The books were classified as porn.
Part 10: Riley's Real Troubles Begin
Reading through the reports from The Eastern Carolina Industrial Training School for Boys, I noticed a dramatic change in tone after the...
Part 8: Things Boys Got In Trouble For in the Early 1900s
I found this list of habits and offenses that could categorize a kid as a delinquent back in the 1920s. The list was in a pamphlet at the...
Part Seven: Riley's Cowboy Act (& Fact-Checking)
As a kid, I called my father "Riley." I was allowed to call my parents by their first names, or Mom and Dad. Sometimes in this blog,...