A Tribute To Shel Silverstein

Shel and I started out as cartoonists at roughly the same time, though he was at Playboy a couple of years before me, drawing from his own experiences (I assumed) about guys who got laid. When I landed at Playboy, I drew from my own experiences as well, about guys who wanted to get laid but got screwed instead. That was only one reason I envied Shel.

The second reason I envied him was his line. He drew in a loose scrawl that looked as much like handwriting as it did cartooning. It floated in puddles of line, expressive and exact, resembling no one else's work, influenced by whom, I couldn't begin to guess.

We all were influenced, and there was brilliant talent about to be influenced--by giants who converted many of us into happy and second-rate imitators. There was Saul Steinberg (text concluded on page 206)Shel Silverstein(continued from page 116) and Andre François and Robert Osborn and Sam Cobean and William Steig. At one time or another, I tried to look like all of them, but Shel was Shel from the start. How come? I never asked. I'm sorry I didn't.

He seemed to always know where he was going, and he went all sorts of places, always in search of the same thing--and it wasn't culture. Playboy sent him around the world, on sexual missions to exotic places. Not only did he get paid for this, but he got famous.

It was just one of the things he became famous for. Shel, whose drawings looked as effortless as doodles, managed a career that made him a legend but was also a doodle. He got up each morning and seemed to do exactly what he felt like doing, living out a kid's paradise: Was he in the mood to cartoon? There was always Playboy ("Now here's my plan"). Was he of a mind to write songs? There was always country music (A Boy Named Sue). Was he into a verse that day or into a children's story? No problem (Where the Sidewalk Ends, The Giving Tree). He doodled out classics in the many forms that interested him. And when he couldn't figure out what to do next, Shel wrote one-act plays and screenplays (one with David Mamet). He made wordplay pay. And philosophical.

Inside you, boy,There's an old man sleepin'Dreamin,' waitin, for his chance.Inside you, girl,There's an old lady dozin',Wantin' to show you a slower dance.

So keep on playin;,Keep on runnin',Keep on jumpin', till the dayThat those old folksDown inside youWake up . . . and come out to play.

--"The Folks Inside"

Shel is that old man sleepin' who came out to play. Go ask any kid in any class in any school: He's playing still.

Silverstein's Song Book

Who been Scorin'?

I wonder who been Scorin' with thescorekeeper's sweetie

While the Scorekeeper doesn't know the score,and who's on the floor with the Doormans' darlin'while the Doorman's busy mannin' the door,someone's Savin' the life of the lifeguard's wifewhile the lifeguard's guardin' lives out in the sea,and while I been movin'all around this towntell me who been movin' in on me?

Now who been Diggin' the ditch Digger's daughterwhile the ditch Digger's diggin' in the ditch,and who's playin' switch with the switchman's bitchwhile the switchmans' busy twitchin' at this switch,someone's grabbin' the ass of the astronaut's lasswhile the astronaut is flyin' through the blue,and while I been goin' all around the world,who been goin' round the world with you?

I wonder who keeps gettin' into the Innkeeper's cutiewhile the Innkeeper's keepin' the inn,and who's cuttin' in on the tin cutter's sinwhile that tin cutter's cuttin' his tin,someone's gettin' the honey from the beekeeper's honeyso what can a poor boy do...

I might as well go score

With the score keeper's sweetiewhile the scorekeeper's Scorin' with you!

Uncle Shelby's Mother Goose

What are Little Boys Made of?

What Are Little Boys Made Of?

Frogs and Snails andPuppy dogs' tailsand blood and entrailsand muscle and intestine and...

The old Woman in the Shoe

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

She had so many children she didn't know what to do

But her problem was solved and her worries were through

When someone put his foot in the shoe.

Three Blind Mice

Three blind micesee how they runthey all ran after the farmer's wifeshe cut off their tails with a carvingknife just as the man from S.P.C.A.walked in and...

Poem

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Uncle Shelby's Scout Handbook

Code

An uncle Shelby Scout can send messages with flags! See the building on fire down the block? run dowustairs with your flags and send a message for help and you will be a hero!

Swimming

An uncle Shelby Scout

Is an expert swimmer,

He can do the crawl, the backstroke,

The breaststroke and the side stroke,

Never mind the undertow-let us jump

Into the water and swim, swim, swim!

But first let us eat a .. nice .. big .. lunch!

*Good Deeds

Remember-* "A Good Deed A Day Keeps The Juvenile Officer Away"

Here Are Some Possible Good Deeds.

1 Help A Rich Old Lady Cross The Street.

2 Help Someone Find His Contact Lens.

3 Beat Up A Masochist.

4 Tell Your Mother She Was Right!

5 Squash A Red Ant...Or A Black Ant..I Forget Which.

6 Whistle At An Ugly Woman.

7 Help Two Big Nice Guys Defend Themselves Against A Small Bully.

8 Find A Bag Containing #50,000 And Donate It To Charity!

9 Find A Bag Containing #50,000 And Donate Most Of It To Charity.'

10 Catch Pneumonia And Go Into A Coma So That A Football Team Can Win One For You.

11 Forgive A Man Who Has Just Killed Your Father In A Rigged Duel.

12 Step On The Glasses Of A Nearsighted Judge Who Is Just About To Sign The Papers Condemning An Innocent Man To His Death!

Uncle Shelby's ABZ Book

D Is For Daddy

See daddy sleeping on the couch

See daddy's hair. Daddy needs a haircut

poor daddy. Daddy has no money for

a haircut. Daddy spends all his money

to buy you toys and oat meal. poor

daddy. Daddy cannot have a haircut.

Poor Poor Daddy.

See The Scissors

Poor Poor Poor Daddy

F Is For Finger Fingers Are Fun. Stick Your Finger Into Your Nose. Doesn't That Feel Nice? Can You Stick Your Finger Into The Baby's Ear? The Baby Is Crying Maybe He Wants His Bottle. You Can Stick Your Finger Into The Fire--Ooh-The Fire Is Hot.

Quick-Stick Your Finger Into The Mayonnaise--There - Isn't That Nice And Cool?

Print "C-O-O-L" On The Mirror In Mayonnaise

Aren't Fingers Fun?

Tomorrow We Will Find Some New Things To Do With Fingers.

Silverstein's Zoo

The Flying Festoon and I

I am going to ride on the flying festoon, I'll jump on his back and I'll whistle a tune, and we'll fly to the outermost tip of the moon, the flying festoon and I.

Oh, I'm taking some crackers, a bail and a prune, and we're leaving this evening precisely at noon, for I'm going to fly with the flying festoon, just as soon as he learns how to fly.

The Unfortunate end of a Dickeree

I think I've killed a Dickeree.

I did it by mistake.

I thought she was a ball, you see,

So I bounced her on the wall, you see,

I didn't think at all, you see,

That she might break.