# Lissener claims to know a big secret about Uncle Cecil, but won't share it! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 4, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910 "2003-12-04T10:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/1 "2003-12-04T10:52:40Z")
A few days back, **Lissener** made the bold and startling assertion, [near the end of this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=226525), that, and I quote: > [@](#): > > I have met the person who created the Cecil persona. That person is real; Cecil is not. > > _but, when asked who this so-called “real” person might be, responded:_ > > I can never tell. But I used to work at Barbara’s Bookstore on Broadway, which was an occasional research stop for Cecil’s minion. Obviously it is in the best interest of everyone that **Lissener** – he/she/they or it – divulge immediately the full story. My theory is that **Mike Lenehan** knows something about this. You’ll remember that Mr. Lenehan was Cecil’s original editor, back in '73. However, he only lasted a couple years in that post. I don’t claim to know the whole story, but apparently Lenehan still holds some sort of sinecure within the _Chicago Reader_ – perhaps a settlement for the long-term effects of his experience with Cecil. Anyway, in the pictures I’ve seen of Mr. Lenehan, he has the haunted look of someone who went through some sort of soul-searing trauma approximately 31 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![AngelicGemma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@AngelicGemma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AngelicGemma)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/2 "2003-12-04T11:25:16Z")
Cecil isn’t real? Say it aint so! ---
**Author:** ![Tansu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@Tansu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tansu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/3 "2003-12-04T11:33:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by whitetho \* > \*\* I don’t claim to know the whole story, but apparently Lenehan still holds some sort of sinecure within the _Chicago Reader_ – perhaps a settlement for the long-term effects of his experience with Cecil. Anyway, in the pictures I’ve seen of Mr. Lenehan, he has the haunted look of someone who went through some sort of soul-searing trauma approximately 31 years ago. \*\* Cecil is one of the Great Old Ones?! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/4 "2003-12-04T14:48:19Z")
Well, Cecil is immeasurably wise, and _is_ a sea monster… ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/5 "2003-12-04T15:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > …in the pictures I’ve seen of Mr. Lenehan, he has the haunted look of someone who went through some sort of soul-searing trauma approximately 31 years ago. Jeez, just how many pixels are in that photo? ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/6 "2003-12-05T02:09:18Z")
Does this guy look haunted?[http://www.aan.org/gbase/Aan/viewPerson?oid=oid%3A224](http://www.aan.org/gbase/Aan/viewPerson?oid=oid%3A224) ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@MonkeyMule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMule)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/7 "2003-12-05T05:43:35Z")
Kinda yeah. Hes got dead eyes. Don’t let the smile fool you, he is one who has faced the Ire of the master and lived to tell about it. Little Ed only survives through his death-ray connections. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lissener-claims-to-know-a-big-secret-about-uncle-cecil-but-wont-share-it/216910/8 "2003-12-05T17:57:38Z")
I dunno, guys. This looks scurrilous. Or squirrellous, or something. Like Elvis Presley’s fondness for girls in plain white underwear, there are some things I’d rather not know.