thurber, readings from america's all around greatest humorist, essayist, playwright and cartoonist, james thurber's stories to my late father in his hospital room, and he insisted it would be good for the show. turns out the thurber family thought so too. the book from which i read "thurber writings and drawings" along with the many thurber titles available appeared on amazon's movers and shakers lists, books suddenly taking off. get me, i'm oprah winfrey. tonight, fables for our time, illustrated in 1940. available again in a perennial edition from harper and row. let me begin with "the little girl and the wolf." one afternoon, a big wolf waited in a dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. finally, a little girl did come along and she was carrying a basket of food. you carrying that basket to your grandmother? asked the wolf. the little girl said, yes, she was. the wolf asked her where her grandmother lived. she told him and he disappeared into the wood. when the little girl opened the door to her grandmother's house, she noticed somebody in bed

"the poe paz cufflinks mystery" by james thurber.motorcycle cop came roaring up unexpectedly out of neverneverland the way motorcycle cops do, the man was on his hands and knees in the long grass beside the road barking like a dog. the woman was driving slowly along in a car that stopped about 80 feet away. its headlines shown on the man, middle-aged, bewildered, sedentary. he got to his feet. what's going on here? asked the cop. the woman giggled. he did not glance at her. i guess it's gone, said the man. i could not find it. what was it? what i lost? the man squinted unhappily. some -- some cuff links. topazes set in gold. they were the color of a fine mosul, said the man. the woman giggled. aren't things better with your glasses off? asked the cop. he pulled his motorcycle to the side to let a car pass. better pull over off the concrete, lady, he said. she drove the car off the roadway. i'm near-sighted said the man. i can hunt things at a distance with my glasses object, but i do better with them off if i'm close to something. th

that's "countdown," portions written by james thurber. rachel maddow and the rachel maddow show is up next. i'm keith olbermann. good night, and good luck. >>> good evening from orlando, where what began as a friday, wound up, sarah palin has us look at the party right now and the party of sarah palin. bart stupak called it a career. we were challenged to so we did do some research on what it should cost to live on c street. it's a friday. there's a lot to get to. but we begin with a one-sentence letter that was delivered to the white house at 10:30 this morning. my dear mr. president, having concluded that it would be in the best interest of the court to have my successor appointed and confirmed well in advance of the commencement of the court's next term, i shall retirement from regular active service as an associate justice. most respectfully yours, john paul stevens. 11 days before his 90th birthday, justice john paul stevens, officially announces today that he is stepping down. his retirement not exactly a surprise. it had been specu