Barry Popik in WSJ

[Laurence Horn]

At 2:32 PM -0600 3/23/02, Gerald Cohen wrote:
>   Never let it be said that Barry Popik, besides being an outstanding
>word researcher, does not also make for good copy.  The Wall Street
>Journal had already profiled him on January 2, 2001 and now mentioned
>him once more yesterday: review of the book _The Banana Sculptor, The
>Purple Lady, and the All-Night Swimmer_; WSJ, March 22, 2002, p. W12,
>col. 5:
>        "...The stories in the book are at times wistful, like the
>description of kite collectors Ann and Sam Ritter's long days on
>windy beaches. A sense of poignancy comes through the story of Barry
>Popick's [sic; misspelled] quixotic attempt to get people to
>celebrate John J. Fitz Gerald, whom Mr. Popick credits with first
>printing the term Big Apple to refer to New York City.  About the
>inauguration of a street sign to honor his memory, Mr. Popick says,
>'I had told the police station that there might be a crowd, so they
>sent a policeman.  it was raining. No one came.' ..."
>
>(BTW, the book is by Susan Sheehan and Howard Means; Simon &
>Schuster, 299 pages, $25).
>
>---Gerald Cohen

Well, it's nice to see that thanks to Sheehan & Means, Fitz Gerald's
name has been rendered correctly at last.  Now we can start worrying
about getting Barry's right.

larry