Flicklives

Last Summary Update: 01-19-2008

Pushed to the Brink
Airdate: Friday - October 19, 1962

WOR Show
Original Airing

audio

(NOTE ABOUT TIME REFERENCES: Since there are many different copies of shows out there from different sources, all time references are from the beginning of one single recorded copy, since various copies, depending on when the recordee started recording, had news at the beginning or shortened themes. The times would vary from copy to copy.)

First Spoken Line After Theme Ends

Now, this is all about being bugged. . .

Show Description

[ Courtesy: Gary Hines - - ]   
  Pushed to the Brink, Being Bugged, Army march in Ozarks, Pvt. Clevenger decides not to go on, 803 signal battalion      
  

[ Courtesy: GROK Summary - - ]   
  This monologue (WOR, October 19, 1962) centers on the idea that being constantly "bugged" (irritated, outraged, pursued by the "hounds of hell") is an inherent, uncurable characteristic of being human - like breathing air or having two feet. The "gigantic booboo" is equally endemic. People try to hide from it through collections or projects, but eventually face it again.

Being bugged as a human constant
Shepherd opens with a disclaimer and the observation that people often don't fully believe what they say. He notes an insurance policy that covers the fire after an atomic blast but not the blast itself - implying a belief in a survivable happy ending. He argues that the tolerance for being bugged has risen with population and technology: people accept shoving, filthy streets, elevator music, and junk everywhere. In less "advanced" places (parts of Holland or Switzerland) the contrast is sharp - cleaner streets, less pushing. He cites a *New York Times* item about a Chinese UN delegate who fell asleep during a speech, woke to applause, and enthusiastically joined in - only to discover he was cheering the wrong side (a perfect booboo).

The forced march and Clevenger
The core story is a 20-mile forced tactical march in the Ozarks with full infantry gear (~67 pounds). In extreme heat and dust, after days of the same routine, the men become numb, centered only on the pack ahead of them, sweating, itching, drinking chlorinated creek water. On a break, Clevenger (a round-faced kid from Lake Forest) simply refuses to get up. He sits under a tree, fully conscious, and will not move. Young Lieutenant Cherry (ROTC, about 21, near tears) and a red-headed corporal try orders, threats, and persuasion. As the column starts again, Clevenger's gear falls apart - blanket, shoe, tent pegs, C-rations - and Cherry ends up carrying the pile while the rest of the company watches. Eventually a jeep takes Clevenger away. Cherry then lectures the men that Clevenger made a spectacle of Company K. No one can really get angry, because Clevenger did what everyone secretly wanted to do: just quit.

A second brink moment
Shepherd briefly recalls another army scene in freezing, battered tents where men sleep in every piece of clothing they own. When the whistle blows in the dark, one man (Sergeant Watkins) simply refuses to get up. Corporals and sergeants carry his sack out; he is never seen again. The lesson is clear and wordless.

Closing notes
He plugs the Electronic Workshop on 8th Street and complains that they have held his Thorens turntable for two months, urging listeners to call and pressure them. The monologue ends on the recognition that being bugged is permanent - you never fully escape it - and that watching someone finally "pop his cork" or simply stop is both frightening and oddly inspiring.      
  