I met Peter when I began hanging with Ed Suchow in 1962-ish. Peter and I shared a love of comic books, though he was a Marvel dude and I was into DC. Somehow, neither of us crossed over but in the late 60's we both came to love R. Crumb and his cronies. This inspired the marvelous Reet character in multiple ways. You can quote me on the naming of the Reet. My memory of this is we were walking near "the park" around 1969ish and I recalled one of R. Crumb's panels "you can reet it" from Gothic Blimp Works. I called him "the Reet" and it stuck like glue. The Reet named his "famous" character Reet (I think). We were blessed with his prolific cartoons for years. Now, the occasional holiday card comes along in his classic style. I think Mr. Glass could have gone places with his cartoons, but the big break never came along for him. I know those who have been fortunate to read his Reetisms over the years are among the chosen. I remember taking the Reet over to a used comic store on Roosevelt Ave and 75th Street with a pile of Marvel comics in the basket of his 26î Black Cruiser bicycle. He probably got a few bucks for 50 comics including mostly first run Spiderman, Fantastic Four, Hulk, Thor, etc. etc. I hope the Reet has forgiven me for helping him make that decision. I remember a few nights at the Reet's where we created our radio drama "Moose Man" on the Sony tape recorder based on Batman and G*d knows what else. We also taped a few phone calls to unsuspecting strangers and parents of our sworn enemies where we attempted to cause irreparable damage to their psyches. In our minds, we were wildly successful. - The Grape

born in queens n.y., one of the five boroughs, 12/31/52 an lived in a new neighborhood created in Jackson Heights, a small area in queens, named Northridge, totally occupied by Jews. my earliest friend is Sydney Karp, who Tony has never met, but has heard the name for all of our time together. Sydneys family moved out of the 5th floor apartment that my family moved into when i was born, so Syd became my first friend. The connection is that i have a collect call system with my parents to save on phone bills..I call them collect person to person and say from Peter for Sydney Karp..which told my parents that I was home and could call me back there (now with collect calls done with computer i only have to say Reet and attach the name of the place where i am (Reet Athome) (get it?) (Reet Atstore) (ha!)...Tony never liked this..thought i was cheap, but its one of the few things they can do to help me save $, so what can i say..can i help it if Roz wants to spend a little gelt on her baby once in a while?....ok thats one story..comin soon ..the guy from the fourth floor..EQ...i went home after silvys dinner and watched the dvd of The Wall..excellent extras!!!and i've never even heard the album! ok dats it 4 now! when ere next we meet..love trippyreet - Reet

I have known the Reet since he was Peter Glass. We grew up around the corner from each other in Northridge. That meant that after meeting the kids your age in your building, you next met the kids in the play area between the buildings. We were in the same year at school, I was born in the beginning of the year January 9th and Peter at the end, December 31st. We first got to be friendly through mutual friends, Eddie Suchow, Norman Wolbrom, etc. but it was a love for the same music and comix that made us fast friends. Later, when most of the group; Russ, EQ, Zach, the Grape went to Stuyvesant High School (and Norman went to Brooklyn Tech), the Reet (as he became known) and I went to Newtown High School together with the rest of the less gifted. I was (and continue to be) math challenged. When we were on triple session in school we went either from 7:30-12 or 9-3 or 12:30-5:30. The best was when we got out at noon. We raced home, did our homework (sometimes) and partied, waiting for our friends to come home from their schools. The best times were the poker games and group outings to the Fillmore East, the Academy of Music, the Beacon, Stony Brook and of course, the annual Zappa Halloween shows at the Felt Forum. - Mark Derison (MD)

Pete's volunteering at United Cerebral Palsy occurred when I worked there as a teacher. Any school holiday he had he came in with me. In the summer he volunteered at the Day Camp. We had one little boy who always came in dirty in person and clothing. Pete bought him an outfit and when the bus brought him in, Pete personally washed him up and re-dressed him. When he went home he took the suit off and held it for the next day. I contributed by washing it up. The kids all loved him. He also volunteered once a week at a hotel in Manhattan that did work for the deprived in Biafra. That ended only because of his allergies which were triggered by a cat walking around the hotel room. - FrednRoz

The next friend of any consequence is The Grape. The Grape.. it seems we all had nicknames...EQ, The Reet, The Grape...EQ became EQ because he wanted to deface school desks in the elementary school years and in stead of getting caught with his real initials, E.S., he changed the S to a Q! He had the first nickname. then, when i was about 15 or 16, the Grape (who was not the Grape yet) named me the Reet cuz i used to truck around like Groucho or R. Crumbs' Mr. Natural and I'd say "ALL Reet!", so Grape dubbed me, The Reet. Grape is Henry Minkoff (now husband and father of 2). Known him since i was little, he lived on the other side of Northridge. The Grape got his nickname during his college years, but i really don't know why. He is another friend that i have never lost contact with. In some ways he was crazier than all of us, but, by far, the most intelligent. He never got high and at times could be more insane than all of us! He was the one who introduced us to Frank Zappa! He was in the upper classes in elementary scool with EQ. I was always in the lower idiot classes. - Reet

I know The Reet longer than any other person on the face of the earth. From the time I can begin to remember, he was there. And I have a good memory! We were born 2 1/2 months apart, one floor removed from each other in the Northridge apartments in Jackson Heights, Queens. Northridge was a series of 6 floor apartment buildings built in approx.1950, filled with young, mostly Jewish middle class families about to create the Baby Boom generation. Couple after couple from the same socio-economic background all coming together in one spot! We grew up with tons of friends - so many kids that one year difference in age meant a whole other group of friends. From those humble beginnings came forth a series of characters that remain friends to this day, sometimes only speaking occasionally but each time as if brothers or sisters. Reet was always an entertainer, from his early marionette days to his beginning guitar playing. That love of music developed in those early years has obviously continued to this day, In fact, the music of the 60's helped Reet and I grow even closer as the music of The Beatles, Stones and Beach Boys turned into the world of The Mothers of Invention and Frank Zappa. Reet had tuned in to early FM radio and managed to tape onto reel to reel a cut from "Freakout", the Mothers first album. That song, "Who Are the Brain Police", changed our lives. Based on hearing that song we bought the album and things were never the same. Help I'm a Rock, Suzy Creamcheese and a whole world of weird LA scene people became our mentors. We started to become a little different than the rest of the gang and by the time we turned 14 we were in the West Village (Reet, The Grape and myself) seeing The Mothers for the first time. Everything musically revolved around The Mothers and by the next year with the opening of the Fillmore East we now had a place to see music in a "fan friendly" environment. Of course, coming up with the $3.00 for a ticket wasn't always easy! - E.Q

Peter seems to inspire complete dedication amongst his friends! I am a longstanding admirer of the Reet, and his first cousin, Bari (Stauber) Adelman, daughter of his mother's sister, Renee (Aunt) and her husband, Herb(Uncle). OK, so let's see, I'm 44 and have been there from the beginning (or almost the beginning). Peter was always nutty and always fun to be around--right from the beginning. I used to sleep over there all the time (along with my sister April who is a few years younger). What great times we had! Here are some of my favorite memories: 

Peter had his own puppets and stage and would put on puppet shows for us all the time (a performer from early on!). Peter teaching us to play elevator by hiding behind coats in the closet, Peter babysitting for us younger folk (Marty included) and taking items out of the medicine cabinet and mixing up his own concoctions--wouldn't you want him to babysit for your kids? (He didn't make us drink them). Jumping wildly from bed to bed trampoline-style, Peter playing 45's in his room and introducing me to the world of music--for real--I first heard the Beatles, the Chipmunks,Chubby Checker, and Light My Fire in Apt. 508

Playing in the "sitting area", Visiting Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Adolph, Meeting Grandma Ethel, Grandpa Louie, and Uncle Teddy, Going on summer vacations together, Spending all the Jewish holidays together

  We've seen a bit less of each other since we've "grown up," but the warm and fuzzy feelings always return when we get together. I still count on Peter for warmth, for laughs, for movie recommendations and for bear hugs. He is great with children and I am happy that my three have gotten to know him a bit. We look forward to spending more happy times together. - Bari

When we were all really young, she took Peter, Marty, myself and April to a Young People's Concert (trying to instill culture in us, of course). Peter decided that he liked the looks of the ice pond alongside us in the park we were walking through and decided to skate on it a bit. within seconds he was on his way through the ice, his pants soaked and frozen to the bone. Needless to say, he needed a change of clothes quickly so we had to hail a cab. Luckily, we were on the way home already! - Aunt Renee

ok more info stuff...so, the Karp family moves into a 2nd floor apt. and we take the 508 apt. I don't know why we did that, I have to ask my mom one day. There are friends in my building even Tony has never heard about, obviously..and i don't know any of his, i just realised! My brother and a few of his childhood friends (he is 3 years younger) recently pulled off a neighborhood reunion and over a 100 people showed up at the playground in back of the elementary school we all attended. They all created a mailing list n i been hearin from more people than i care to remember! an on top of it. - Reet

He was very caring and attentive to Martin, who as you know is his complete opposite personality wise. Peter was protective of his baby brother but they had their separate lives and friends. There were always two sets of friends in our house--even watching TV in two different rooms. Our house seemed to be the most popular for congregating. I can't tell you their fondest and funniest memories. Maybe Martin can. I do know they loved each other and had plenty of disagreements too. No grudge was ever kept though, and they had, I think the normal up and down relationship of two brothers. - FrednRoz

my next friend was a guy who lived next door called Kenny Shapiro..he ended up a colostomy victim, secluded himself in his parents house and has degenerated mentally over the years..sad...but its my next best friend we are up to ed EQ suchow..he lived on the 4th floor and has 2 brothers, Paul 3 years younger and Gary five years younger. Infact they are all in ny this weekend for one of pauls kids' bar mitzvah and Q n Gary are staying in my folks apt. (cuz they are in florida!) - Reet

Martin and Fred didn't feel they needed to be involved in family counseling when Pete was in high school. The therapist insisted it had to be a family thing. Well, whatever we did, Pete has said that the joint sessions were instrumental in the process of our communicating as a family. . - FrednRoz

I am so happy to see this effort being undertaken for our dear friend, Reet.My personal recollections are suprisingly strong and w/hypnosis I'll certainly remember EVERYTHING! Let me know what I can do to help make this happen! Looking forward to it -EQ

Pete gave us pause in school because he acted up mischieviously. In elementary school he was playing with a tissue while on line to go somewhere. The teacher told him to get rid of it so he ate it. He was an incessant chatterer so that got him into trouble. His grades were average on his report cards in academic work. In art and creativity they were top of the line. His English grades were good. You know how articulate he is in speaking and writing. - FrednRoz

I was one class above violent and out of control kids. My class was kids with lower IQs that were not violent. It stayed that way all through my N.Y. school experience. Cuz i was dubbed as one with least potential, they kept putting me in classes with troublemakers all the time. My brother, 3 years younger, would always be faced with some teacher asking if he was my brother? to which he would always have to tell them he was nothing like me and he would cause no trouble. Poor kid. So, by the time i got to 11th grade, i was failing horribly and constantly on the verge of nervous breakdowns. I was getting high alot and the folks had no idea! Finally, the school told me and the folks that they would probably not graduate me. So in a landnark decision, my parents and i went to therapy. The therapist was good and got us all talking and realizing our problems. The outcome was that since the ny school system would not graduate me unless i passed the state regent tests (horrible tests made by the state in which if you fail, u dont graduate!) I wouldnt even show up on the days of these tests.- Reet

His going away to a residential h.s. for his senior year came about because of counseling. He wanted to quit school. Getting his h.s. diploma enabled him, years later, to continue his higher education. - FrednRoz

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