I guess a little history lesson is in order for the young ones.
Up until a couple of decades ago, there were no ATM/debit cards. Only the Upper Middle Class & Rich had credit cards. If the rest of us wished to purchase anything, we had to pay either with cash or a check. (this is known as the Pre-Plasticine Era)
Banks didn't just send a monthly statement to you , detailing the debits & credits to your account. They sent that, PLUS every check & deposit slip which was listed on the statement. Not a miniaturized copy of the checks: The actual checks (processed & printed over so they couldn't be used again). One would check their statement, then put the statement w/checks in a drawer, then, when the drawer got full, put them in a box marked w/ the year and stuff that box in the back corner of a closet or in the attic or basement or some damn place where you could forget about it.
If you have had a loved one pass away (particularly an older person), you know that one of the most annoying & time-consuming tasks is to go through those boxes & boxes of dead trees. Since you don't know how their file system (if they had one), you have to look at & ponder the importance, necessity, legal status, etc. of every piece of paper before shredding the unnecessary ones (99.999999% of them). And, btw, no one had shredders at home or at work years ago, unless you worked for the Government.
So, this is the scenario facing Moe Howard's children when first Moe, then his wife Helen, passed away in 1975 (And yes, that's the Moe of Moe, Larry, & Curly, The Three Stooges). Also, Joan Howard Maurer (whose husband, Norman Maurer, produced the final four Stooges feature films, directing the last two) was in a long-term (and ultimately successful) fight to regain the ownership of, & thus the licensing rights to, the Three Stooges name & likenesses. Moe's autograph had still been in demand from fans at his death...all those papers...
And so, in 1976 or '77 in the classified section in the back of Rolling Stone magazine there appeared a small ad: send $4.99 & a self-addressed stamped envelope to a P.O.Box, & you will receive Moe Howard's autograph...on one of his cancelled checks. I did, & you see what has hung proudly in my room ever since. I noted then how, just two weeks before his 75th birthday, Moe still had a strong clear signature. I love The Stooges and I treasure this.
Till next time,
Love and Peace, Clarence
(btw, I blanked out some of the info on the check because nobody should be hassled just because by chance they have numbers in common w/Moe...although I'd think it was cool...then I'd change them lol)
