Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Never Trust A Naked Bus Driver

The other day I mentioned that when some of the office bookshelves collapsed, I found my copies of three books by Jack Douglas that I'd been looking for. I discovered Douglas's books back in 1959 or 1960, and at the time I thought they were hilarious. So last night I decided to see if they were still funny after 45 years or so and picked up Never Trust a Naked Bus Driver. The title is either funny or sage advice. Or both.

The cover has a pretty good likeness of Douglas on it. He was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show back when Jack Parr was the host, so I remember what he looked like. And the book is just as strange as I remembered. It's very short, only 116 pages, and some of the pages have very little written on them. Chapter 42, for example, is nothing more than a sign that says, "This is your Submarine. Keep It Tidy." And in fact, chapter might be the wrong word, as it implies some kind of continuity. There's no continuity in the book. Each "chapter" is a separate entity containing things like notes, playbills, diary entries, reminiscenses, one-liners, and so on. My favorite chapter begins with another sign: "Kick the Happiness Habit -- Become a Writer."

So does the book still make me laugh? Sure, in places. It's not as funny to me as it was long ago, however, which is a shame. I figure the book hasn't changed. So it must be me.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I actually "had to" go out and buy all his books...he was that important to me in my early teens.

I actually got away with plaigarizing one of the stories in "Only Child" for my high school Spanish class (we had to write a story in Spanish and I just translated his (oh, I feel so guilty!) Now I do write my own stuff, so retribution will come...

I am linking to this page from http://justsopress.typepad.com/tattoo_charlie/2005/10/15.html

kyle said...

I had this book when I was 12 or 13, picked it up from a library book sale (in the 80's!), I thought it was hysterical. I can't seem to find it now. "Jackie Mason: Unite!". I don't even know what that means or why it's funny but it is.

Dan Waldhoff said...

I'd been looking for NTANBD and My Brother Was an Only Child for a long time - for the same reason you re-read NTANBD. Loved him on Jack Parr. About the same time (1956-57?) my 5th grade teacher made "The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody" by Will Cuppy mandatory reading. That's a book I've kept and still amazes - funny and real. Hang on to the Jack Douglas originals. They are impossible to find now. Fortunately, Will Cuppy still has a small following and is occasionally reprinted.

Dan Waldhoff in Japan
http://danexjapan.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

I still have the copy of Will Cuppy's book that I bought well over 40 years ago. A classic.

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Anonymous said...

In 1973, I thought "The Neighbors are Scaring My Wolf" was the bomb. I even used it in forensics as a competition speech (and was criticized for such a "pop" selection). I can still remember a scene where a drunken divorcee neighbor gets so mad at Jack that she burns all her own porch furniture. Weird.

Unknown said...

I used to have that one, but it's disappeared.

Gokul R said...

Actually what is the philosophy behind the title 'never trust a naked bus driver' ? what does it mean ? ... Coincidentally, Woody Allen talks about the title (title only, not the contents) in his film 'Anything Else' .. But, I never understood what it means ?

May be you could explain the meaning of the title ?!

Jonathan D. DeViney said...

It's non-sequitur. It's meaningless. Great stuff, though. Feels like a spiritual predecessor to Patrick McManus' works like "The Night The Bear Ate Goombaw"

Christian pascua said...

I also watched the movie "It's like anything else" by Woody Allen reknowned writer actor, writer,producer and director. Though I never read the book about that but for me there is a different meaning about the phrase.
For me the phrase means trusting someone that you know that you couldnt trust and still trusting him knowing ehat consequences may come....