HE'S ON A TEAR AGAINST DRUGS.

Byline: Susan Palmer The Register-Guard

Ed Charon rips fat phone books apart faster than most guys on the planet - not bad for a retired pastor pushing 69.

Charon - a Roseburg resident who has twice held the Guinness world record for most phone books torn in three minutes - brought that singular skill up to Eugene on New Year's Eve with a don't-drink-or-do-drugs message delivered at the Kowloon Restaurant lounge to a sparse yet intrigued audience.

He ripped through five Roseburg phone books, five Branson, Mo., phone books and five Portland phone books, tearing the big books in powerful wrenches.

For fun, he combined two Roseburg phone books and ripped through them the way a person tears a piece of cloth in two. Wednesday's show has brought his lifetime total phone books torn to an even 9,000.

Charon credits a life of clean living for his talent. He's been a Christian since age 16 and has never touched alcohol, cigarettes or illegal drugs. With fingers no ordinary jeweler could fit a ring to and wrists thick as piano legs, Charon first tackled a phone book at age 65 after seeing the stunt on television.

"I tried it and it took me about three minutes," he said.

A competitive man by nature, he started setting small goals for himself - 200 phone books, then 500, then 800. Then he contacted the Guinness record keepers and learned that top honors had gone to a guy who had ripped 12 1,000-page phone books in three minutes.

To celebrate his 67th birthday in April 2002, Charon split 19 phone books of 1,110 pages in three minutes, but lost his crown as king of the big tear to a 31-year-old North Carolinian who bested him by doing 19 books of 1,400 pages. For his 68th birthday, he grabbed back the glory with 20 books in three minutes, but lost it a couple months later to another Midwestern 30-something upstart.

Kind of makes a man wish Guinness had a seniors division. He's competing with guys half his age, he said.

Charon doesn't know if or when he'll try to set a new world record, but he does take his show on the road - particularly to area schools, prisons and churches - where he extols the virtues of clean living while wowing the crowd with his strength.

"There's no age or race barriers. Everybody enjoys this," he said.

He works at his craft, lifting weights at home daily and working out at the gym three times a week, but he doesn't take the credit.

"I give the Lord the glory for it," he said.

RIP IT GOOD

No short cut: Charon rips through phone books lengthwise and not across the spine. "That's the girl's way," he said.

Hardest part: Getting the initial tear started.

The key: "I've got the strength to pull it apart. Besides my hands, I've got big wrists," he said.

Moment of glory: Jay Leno invited Charon to appear on "The Tonight Show," last year. He was initially allotted just enough time to tear apart one phone book until he ripped through five back-stage for Leno in 20 seconds. In front of the camera, it took him 22 seconds to get the job done.

CAPTION(S):

Ed Charon of Roseburg rips a phone book in half on his way to tearing apart his 9,000th book at Kowloon Restaurant in Eugene. He credits his ripping ability to clean living - no alcohol, cigarettes or illegal drugs. The 68-year-old has held the world record for most phone books torn in three minutes.