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November 2, 2006 | 8 Comments

Post to the Host:
In the PHC movie DVD special features, Tommy Lee Jones referred to an episode where he laughed his a** off. It was something like "The day the Mongols invaded McDonalds". When was that broadcast? I'd like to hear or read it.

R.D. B.
Pottstown, PA

He may be referring to a story of mine about a Mongol invasion of Chicago and how President Bush the First responded to it. A little satiric bon-bon collected (I think) in We Are Still Married. Or maybe in The Book of Guys. I can't recall the title of the story, sorry. But I do recall that Pottstown is where John O'Hara grew up. Is that not true? I mean to go back and reread some of his stories. Is he still remembered there?

8 Comments

Eugene H. Poppel | November 3, 2006 5:21 AM | Reply

John O'Hara grew up in Pottsville, not Pottstown, PA. Pottstown is about 54 miles northwest of Pottstown, which is about 40 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

As for whether Pottsville remembers O'Hara, I don't know--never been there. It is the home of a fine brewery, Yuengling.

Kathy Belovesick | November 3, 2006 6:43 AM | Reply

John O'Hara was from Pottsville, Pa. Not Pottstown. Yes he has been honored with a park, a statue and a street. Also, Pottsville has America's Oldest Brewery.Yuengling. Sincerely Kathy Belovesick, Pottsville, Pa.

Bill Owens | November 3, 2006 7:53 AM | Reply

The piece is in We Are Still Married, and it's called "How the Savings and Loan Were Saved". And it's very good reading. Especially if you're the sort of person who can hear Garrison's voice as you read...

Dave Deatrich | November 3, 2006 8:07 AM | Reply

John O'Hara was from, and wrote about Pottsville, not Pottstown. Same state, on the same river about 60 miles apart.

Jon Oliver | November 3, 2006 8:15 AM | Reply

John O'Hara grew up in PottsVILLE, PA.

Cynthia Wallace Love | November 3, 2006 11:38 AM | Reply

He should be remembered in Pottstown, but he was born in Pottsville, PA (Gibbsville in his books). A couple of years ago I re-read Appointment in Samarra. I was a teenager when I first read it, into Werther/Van Gogh/etc. romanticized angst. Fifty years later I was amazed at how much O'Hara knew about depression. That book will endure.

C.W.L.
Athens, OH

Don Campbell | November 4, 2006 11:55 PM | Reply

I grew up near Pottsville, and as a high school student knew that John O'Hara grew up in the area. I had several "old maid" school teachers for English in high school. They so disliked his tendency to curse that they would not admit that he was part of our local heritage. He was not on our reading list. That was the early 1960's. Things have changed so much since then.

Ava Buchanan | November 11, 2006 2:54 AM | Reply

There are two stories that involve Huns invading Chicago. One is in "We are still Married" called "How the Savings and Loans were Saved",and one in "The Book of Guys" called "George Bush". (The last is my favorite)