John F. Kennedy and John Barbour

If you love show biz, or are in it, get “Your Mother’s Not a Virgin! The Bumpy Life and Times of the Canadian Dropout Who Changed the Face of American TV!” by John Barbour, actor, comedian, talk-show host, personal writer for Frank Sinatra, and creator of “Real People,” the first reality-TV show, which swept the nation.  I burst out laughing a number of times.  That’s not only rare, I often thought, “That’s the funniest thing I ever read.”  My chest tightened at some of the harrowing stories.  Like the good old days, I was up till one o’clock, still reading.

John made friends with Jim Garrison (the D.A. who prosecuted Clay Shaw for involvement in JFK’s assassination), filmed him in an interview, and made “The Garrison Tapes,” a best-seller on the internet.  Americans are starving for the truth.  Or so we must believe, to generate hope.

John’s tenacity in truth-telling and sticking to his principles reminded me of JFK saying, “Every man can make a difference, and every man should try.”  No wonder John said at the end of his book, “…throughout history, no group ever made one contribution to improving society.  All growth in science, music, art, politics, medicine or education came about because of the passion of only one black sheep and a few strays.  Galileo, Copernicus, Tesla, Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s and Thomas Pane’s American Revolution had few on their side.  Castro only had twelve in a rowboat.  Jesus only had his dirty dozen at the Last Supper.  The masses of white sheep continue to allow themselves to be led by only one shepherd, usually a dog.”  John’s love of life is infectious.