What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

This might be slightly outside of our comfort zone, but I thought I'd give it a try.

When I was living in St. Louis I snipped a Dave Barry article out of the Post-Dispatch and sent it to my father (OK, it was a long time ago). He loved it, completely identified with it, and became a life-long Dave Barry fan.

It was about trying on pants. Specifically, trying on every pair of pants in his closet and sorting them into those that fit well, were acceptable, too small, etc. Maybe he made it seem like sort of an exercise or aerobic activity? Anyway, my dad used to do that, periodically: take out thirty pairs of identical (except for size) khakis out of the closet, try on each one, pull out the ones that fit, and relegate the rest of them to the basement until my dad's next diet (or expansion) so my dad really identified with the column

I haven't seen that column collected in any of his books (which doesn't mean it wasn't; I haven't read them all).

The column is not "Shop 'til You Drop (in Size)" (05.25.97) or "Hung by Your Threads" (06.14.87) or "Too Big for Your Britches" (10.13.85).

I don't know when the column was originally published, but I know it was printed in the Post Dispatch sometime in 1992 or earlier, so it can't have been written subsequent to that.

I appreciate any help anyone can give me -- thanks!

It looks as if the newspaper's archives are available online, although I'm not sure if they are free to access. I googled "st louis post dispatch archives" and got a few promising hits but I can't get access to the links because I'm in the UK.

Good idea, Rachel!

I didn't think it would work, because Dave Barry was a syndicated column (based in the Miami Herald), but the archive actually has a page-by-page microfiche copy of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. I found it in the January 13, 1991 Sunday paper: "High-Calorie Thoughts on Low-Calorie Diet."

Thank you!

That's great! This is one for the "SOLVED: Other" folder, I'm guessing.

Rosa wrote: "This is one for the "SOLVED: Other" folder, I'm guessing."

I was actually hoping that the column would have been published in one of his books, so that I could actually pin it to a book instead of leaving the "This Thread is About" line blank.

Moderators? What are your thoughts?

That's surprisingly good digital archiving for a regional newspaper. I wonder if they got funding from somewhere? Good for you, St Louis Post-Dispatch.

I searched google books for several phrases in the article and nothing came up. Absent a book, we'll move it to Other.