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Well known radio personality, Jean Shepherd reads a condensed chapter from the book, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. The book was published in 1961, and the chapter being read was published in an earlier issue of Playboy magazine. Don’t worry, it’s family-friendly.
The story recounts a boy, from the era of the late 1930s, and his deep, burning, desire to get a Red Ryder BB gun. Braving the wintery days, bundled up like a fur ball on feet, he tells about his life as a schoolboy and the sales advertisement that caught his eye.
Will he be brave enough to actually ask his parents for the manly gift? The adults in his life assure him, he’ll shoot his eye out. Even Santa and his teacher seem to conspire against him. Is he doomed to only get the usual run of the mill gifts? A football, an erector set, tinker toys, or the dreaded “Sandy Andy”. And just what would he do if he actually got that Red Ryder BB gun?
