A great man died last week and there wasn't much in the media about him. The man was Jean Shepherd and, without a doubt, he was one of the greatest humorists America has ever produced. If Shepherd isn't up there on the pedestal with Mark Twain, he is on the level just below. The folks at Calvin College know of his greatness because they once taught a course on Jean Shepherd. Shepherd himself came to the college to be part of the course, which afforded me a second chance to interview him. The first chance was on the telephone when he was promoting a movie that he wrote and narrated called "A Christmas Story" which is most Amencans' favorite Christmas movie after "It's a Wonderful Life." I have had the opportunity to meet many people because of my work at The Press. Tom Cruise, Jane Fonda, James Cameron, Abbie Hoffman. Jerry Ford, Gloria Steinem and many others have chatted with me, but the anticipation of meeting those folks was nowhere near the incredible anticipation I felt knowing that I was going to meet and talk to Jean Shepherd. Calvin College afforded me that incredible possibility and I was not disappointed. He was delightful and controversial. How can you bear that combination? I've known Shepherd for a long time, having purchased his first book called. "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash" back in my youth. I thought it was the funniest book l had ever read and still do. For many years I gave copies of the book to my friends and relatives. Shepherd is one of the few people who could make me laugh out loud when reading. Other books were published and I gobbled them up as fast as they came out - books like "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories and Other Disasters" and " A Fistful of Fig Newtons." Most were set in a fictional town that lay near Chicago in northern Indiana. His tales had to do with what it was like to struggle to be in the working class. And he told his stories with delicious humor. Shepherd was also involved with television as he adapted several of his stories as television plays, plus he had a couple of series on Public Television - "Jean Shepherd's America" and "Shepherd's Pie." And he made a couple of records. But where Shepherd was the most amazing was on radio, and I know he is rolling over in his grave right now as I say this. For some reason Shepherd wanted to forget his days in radio and be remembered as a novelist. When I was in the Army and stationed at Ft Monmouth, N.J. in the middle 1060's, I had the opportunity to hear Shepherd on the radio on New York station WOR. I would listen to the stories that he would spin for an hour about his young life in Indiana and about what happened to his characters after they left the home town. Flick, Schwartz and Ralph (who was Shepherd himself had many an adventure as kids and adults. And the adventures were always laced with humor, plus Shepherd treated his characters with love and kindness. Shepherd would talk live for an hour on the radio. He told stories and commented on events. It was as good as radio ever got. In fact, it was magical. You can go on the Internet today and find people trading tapes of those shows. What made them even more important to me was that he would sometimes talk of his days in the Signal Corps at Ft. Monmouth, which was something I could really identify with, as I was trapped in the Signal Corps for three years. Simply put, I loved Jean Shepherd, and I am so sorry he is gone. But I feel so fortunate to have been working for a newspaper in Grand Rapids where there was a college like Calvin College with the foresight to teach young people about the works of Jean Shepherd. Because of this combination of life situations, I was able to meet a man I so admired. And to have him talk personally to me, sounding for all the world like he was back on WOR. Life didn't get better than in that moment. Take care, Shep. John Douglas can be reached by writing him at The Press at 155 Michigan St NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 or by e-mail at jdouglas@grpress.com.