The Royko Thread

Well, 21, from what I saw in my very limited exposure to him (three times, I think) he wasn't a very approachable guy. Although I suspect you would have had more success than I when approaching him.

And, SF, the Billy Goat is alive and well. Okay, it's not really too alive and not too well, but it's still around and Nick the bartender still makes it a habit to buy beers for thirsty scribes.

But tourists? GOTTA love the way he treats them.

"Tell me about the billy goat curse."
"Ahhh, the fucking curse."

 

Had a beer down the bar from him at the Goat. Bought him whatever it was he was drinking -- Scotch, I think. Outside of buying one for Tom Waits one night in Cambridge, and a beer for Levon Helm in Nashville once, my favorite buying moment of all time.

p.s. -- The "$11.69" line makes that column a classic.

 

Taking ink-stained wretches who have never been there down to the BG is a great Chicago pleasure.

 

The Robinson column is positively brilliant. Uplifting. Insightful.

The one I enjoyed more, however, was the one underneath that: on Rodney King. What an intelligent response to such an emotional issue, especially seeing as when he wrote it. That was beautiful.

 

I truly hope someone sends a copy of that Sinatra column to Jay, so he can see what cool looks like.

(I was actually going to write  Jay's response had he received that letter from Sinatra, but I think it would give me a migraine.)

 

Try writing Telander's response to Mariotti's response.

I thought the same thing, 21. How would Jay handle this?

 

Dave,

First off, Sound and Fury was excellent.

Two, you are moving up my hero list on a rocketship. Thank you so much for reposting a classic Royko column.

PDB

Boys and girls,

THAT is what Mariotti should have done. Cut Guillen to ribbons and make him look the fool. Hang him with his own words. Notice what Royko did not do: "DDAAAAAAAAAD! THE BIG KIDS ARE PICKING ON ME!"

 

Slats Grobnik always knew what was up.
Always.

 

As overrated as Royko.

 

On Royko and Grizzard....

I turned down the columnist's job with the Sun-Times when Grizzard was the sports editor....he seemed like the unhappiest man I'd ever met....he moved back to Atlanta 6 months later....the irony here is, Grizzard counted Royko as his model -- he went to Atlanta doing a cityside column, a la Royko and Breslin....then, one day, he told me, "I wrote about my dog and got a hundred letters, so I kept writing about my dog instead of politics".....he became "Lewis Grizzard"....though "beloved" by many "readers," he was Willie Miranda alongside Roy Blount's Babe Ruth.

Best two city columnists ever: Royko and Murray Kempton....Breslin piped it....Royko and Kempton were different in every way except the most important way: you could believe 'em.

 

i literally have tears in my eyes thinking about royko and his columns and the fact that people can still remember him and them. he was simply the greatest of all time.

i wrote him when he was alive. always got a form letter back.

but i talked through e-mail with one of his sons and his widow after his death. every time i mention him in a column, someone in his family will send me a note.

royko and ralph wiley still can make me cry.

 

The fan club the son of a saloonkeeper maintains, speaks volumes.