- Playing
- Planet Buddy
- From
- Graham Shelby
Buddy was a sixteen-year-old bad boy who was experimenting with being good. The counselors at our high school had suddenly placed him in the advanced classes and he was struggling. I'd been a good boy in those classes for years, and I was ready to experiment with being bad. During the school day, Buddy lived in my world: three-ring binders, permission slips, hall passes. But one night, we went out, and he took me on a field trip to Planet Buddy. And things were never the same after that.
More from Graham Shelby
Tim O' Brien on war stories: "There's something that endures."
(03:32)
From: Graham Shelby
Memorial Day can be tough for veterans - especially those who've served in combat. For some, the tributes and ceremonies exacerbate their struggle to resolve memories of war. ...
Shakespeare Behind Bars
(03:37)
From: Graham Shelby
So a man commits a crime. A terrible crime. He's caught, tried, sentenced and locked up. Then what? What do the rest of us want from the roughly two million inmates currently ...
An Unpredictable Business
(06:20)
From: Graham Shelby
An itinerant worker reflects on the ups and downs of his chosen profession: Teaching writing workshops in elementary schools.
A Veteran's Son Goes to Vietnam
(07:10)
From: Graham Shelby
Writer Graham Shelby grew up wondering what had happened to his father in Vietnam. Just after graduating from college in 1994, Graham went to find out. Among his most ...
When You're a JET...(Voxpop)
(01:43)
From: Graham Shelby
Just hours before leaving the U.S., some young Americans talk about their hopes, their fears and their reasons for accepting the risks associated with moving to Japan to work ...
Interview with Fred Newman
(08:48)
From: Graham Shelby
Sound effects artist Fred Newman is an integral part of A Prairie Home Companion. In this interview, Fred talks about his roots, his partnership with Garrison Keillor and how ...
Woody Allen vs. Mean Joe Green
(07:59)
From: Graham Shelby
A man-sized teenager believes joining the football team will help him feel big on the inside.
My Hero
(07:15)
From: Graham Shelby
In the '80s,a boy who aspires to be a super-hero enters junior high school and encounters his very own super-villains: a group of ninth-grade girls who have different ambitions.
Diamond Day
(06:54)
From: Graham Shelby
Tradition or cliche? Free tickets to a father-son baseball game lead writer Graham Shelby to question his attitude towards the national passtime and the value of things we ...
At the Humana Festival, the Playwright's the Thing
(03:10)
From: Graham Shelby
The Humana Festival of New American plays is to theatre what Sundance is to film or SXSW is to music. For 35 years, the festival has focused on giving playwrights their due.
Piece Description
Buddy was a sixteen-year-old bad boy who was experimenting with being good. The counselors at our high school had suddenly placed him in the advanced classes and he was struggling. I'd been a good boy in those classes for years, and I was ready to experiment with being bad. During the school day, Buddy lived in my world: three-ring binders, permission slips, hall passes. But one night, we went out, and he took me on a field trip to Planet Buddy. And things were never the same after that.
Broadcast History
Recorded as part of the program Kentucky Homefront and aired on WFPK in Louisville, KY.
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Storyteller Graham Shelby shares a tale about an uneasy friendship between two teenagers - a bad boy trying to be good, and a good boy ready to be bad. Each finds out who he really is on a trip to Planet Buddy.
OUTRO:Graham Shelby is a writer and storyteller in Louisville, Ky. The last he heard, Buddy was just getting out of jail.





