Wayne, Springfield, Virgina

I too have many wonderful memories of Salty's Shack. My family lived in Providence until 1965 and Salty was a regular part of my after-school TV experience until my tenth birthday. Perhaps that is why I am always drawn to old Popeye cartoons and have collected all of the Three Stooges episodes. But my most memorable recollection was in meeting Salty in person.

David, my closest of forty cousins, lived in Cranston and I would sometimes stay at his home for several days over our summer vacations. Being energetic and inquisitive children growing up in a much safer time, we often wandered the neighborhoods within about a mile radius of David's home. One day, David told me that Salty lived a few blocks away and we resolved to meet him. I recall riding our bikes past Salty's Cranston home multiple times for a few days in hopes of seeing Salty in his yard but we ultimately concluded that this approach was futile. After much discussion, we mustered the courage to knock on Salty's door and ask for his autograph. As I recall, his wife answered our knock and called him to the door. He greeted us with a smile, chatted with us a few minutes, then gave us the prize we were seeking on a stock photo from the show. I thought that I had died and gone to heaven! My first encounter with a "star" that I would never forget.

Received via email, March 13, 2011.