A Lion Looks Back& the Ineffable Idahoness of Perry Swisher

Summary

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"I was in a restaurant after the election. A blue-collar restaurant. The Capri...good place to eat if you've never been there. And the guys in the next booth; they looked to me to be in their late 30s, early 40s, were talking, and one of them said, 'That's [PERRY SWISHER]. He'll know. He's old enough he'd remember.' They were wondering about what happened in World War Two. Did the Republicans run anybody against Roosevelt?"

"Let me tell you how different it was then from today. Pocatello had a bookstore owner who was also the leader of the movement to prevent the sale of the (then) new Playboy magazine and its ilk. In response, we created a gossip columnist we called 'Madame Fifi.' So here's a letter to Madame Fifi: 'Dear Madame Fifi, what do you think about sex on the newsstand?' And she answers back, 'Sounds uncomfortable.'

"I called the sheriff's office and asked if they'd had any complaints about this concert. She said, 'I think we've had 500 calls.' I said, 'Well why don't you get it stopped?' I forget her answer, but it was basically...you know...no balls.

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A Lion Looks Back& the Ineffable Idahoness of Perry Swisher

He talks like a good newspaper reads - crisp, colorful, filling in the background as he goes - the who, where, when And how of it. He knows well there's more to a story than the headline. He even provides quotes.

"I was in a restaurant after the election. A blue-collar restaurant. The Capri...good place to eat if you've never been there. And the guys in the next booth; they looked to me to be in their late 30s, early 40s, were talking, and one of them said, 'That's Perry Swisher. He'll know. He's old enough he'd remember.' They were wondering about what happened in World War Two. Did the Republicans run anybody against Roosevelt?"

This isn't unusual for Perry, that strangers would approach him. Everyone seems to know a little something about Swisher. That he once ran a newspaper notorious for grating the bland Idaho blackboard like Fu Manchu fingernails. That as a legislator, he helped turn Idaho's tax base...

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