At 96, He Says He's Ready to Go

Editor's Note: I suspect that G.K. is talking about Uptown neighbor Studs Terkel...

At 96, he says he's ready to go

But I sense he wants to hang around until November, to see for himself whether Obama wins the White House.

by Garrison Keillor

July 9, 2008 | I stopped by to visit an old friend in Chicago last Sunday, and by "old" I mean 96 years but with all his faculties intact, which makes him a natural wonder you could exhibit on the carnival circuit for 2 bucks a head, children under 10 admitted free with a parent: SEE MAN BORN ON DAY TITANIC WENT DOWN -- HE TALKS, HE MAKES SENSE.

The Wonder was sitting in a deep chair under an Einsteinian burst of white hair, nibbling blueberries, his walker handy and a bottle of J&B, when I arrived around noon. Strewn on the floor were newspapers the Wonder reads to keep close tabs on the Cubs and Barack Obama. I offered to show him how to read the paper online. "That'd be like trying to bounce a meatball," said his son, across the room. "You think Obama can do it?" the Wonder asked me. "It's in the bag," I said. He frowned. He's worried. Too good to be true. I got the idea that he was planning to hang on until November and find out for himself...

You want to read the rest? Go to Wonder Has Plenty to Say

Working Man, Studs Terkel

by Jonathan Messinger

LONG HAUL Terkel has a big story to tell.

At 95 he’s still a talker, still a writer and still the best combination of both of those—a raconteur. When I visit him in his Uptown home on a recent fall day to discuss his new memoir, Touch and Go, he receives me warmly despite feeling, in his words, “not well.” Sitting in a high-back chair, clad in his standard-Studs-issue checkered shirt but wrapped in a flannel bathrobe, he chats for nearly an hour, despite the obvious strain it causes him—evidenced by the wearisome coughing. When the photographer shows, Terkel mugs like a pro...

For complete story, go to Time Out.