My dad and his writing partner, Hod Shewell, wrote a weekly humor column for the Lansing State Journal entitled, "As We See It." The column was composed of about 20 quips on the popular topics of the day.

My dad and Hod were among the thousands who were swept into State of Michigan government jobs when the democrats swept into office with FDR. Dad came to Lansing upon his graduation from high school in 1936 and took a job in the Highway Department's mail room. Hod came to Lansing a few years earlier. Hod met my dad's brother Izzy, and Hod and Izzy took up residence in a bachelor pad in Lansing. My dad met Hod through Hod's friendship with Izzy and their relationship thrived from that point on.

The yellowing newspaper clipping was recently found pinned to a sewing room wall in a Lansing Home. My guess is that the clipping is from circa 1957-59. A friend of mine was helping a friend of his move belongings from his friend's late mother's home. He spotted the clipping on the wall, took a quick look, asked for the clipping and sent it on to me. What's the real story behind the how the clipping? Was it really pinned to a wall of nearly 50 years? Why? Who?

Hod was gentle, loving soul ever armed with a story, a quip, a song, or a smile. If you Google "Hod Shewell," you'll find this: "Humorist Hod Shewell characterized Las Vegas as "The city of fish and chips: Some poor fish is always losing his chips."

Don't squint to hard, here are the lines from the clip above:

• We belong to no organized political party—we’re republicans
  
• Stage hand unionism—the electrician can pound a nail, but is forbidden to use a hammer
  
• Not one of our bills got lost in the holiday shuffle
  
• One man in a thousand is a leader of men; the others follow women
  
• A mother is a person who can find a kid’s coat in the closet that isn’t there
  
• In yourself, anger is righteous indignation, in others—just bad temper
  
• Some people conduct their lives on the cafeteria plan—self service only
  
• Synonym: a word used in place of the word you can’t spell
  
• If a gal doesn’t try to hold her shape, no one else will
  
• Growl all day and you’ll be dog tired at night
  
• Keep your words soft and sweet—you never know when you’ll have to eat them
  
• Some people succeed on a shoestring while others take a lacing
  
• First Alaskan legislation will probably include a slush fund
  
• Last minute holiday haircut—the final clip
  
• Now I just wonder why I got a cuckoo clock for Christmas
  
• When day is done sometimes nothing else is
  
• Inflation: A peculiar method of cutting a dollar without damaging the paper
  
• A few more moons riding down in the lazy west and the world indeed will be waiting for the sunrise
  
• You never know how noisy your neighbors are until your TV breaks down
  
• They tell us that vodka takes your breath away
  
• A diplomat uses people to use people

Enjoy!