Monday, March 2, 2009

Paul Harvey, RIP

I was saddened to learn of the death over the weekend, at age 90, of radio legend Paul Harvey. Here was a man who lived his life the right way, and took us all along for the ride.

I was first introduced to Paul Harvey when my boss at a college co-op job forced us all to listen to his broadcasts during the lunch hour. At first I thought Paul was pretty corny, and that his enthusiasm was faked and affected. But the more I listened the more I came to understand that Paul Harvey truly enjoyed sharing his optimistic view of the world with anybody who would listen. And he was not ashamed to let us all know how much he cared. For a cynical young man, it was a revelation.

Years later, it was my turn to force my unwilling children to listen to Paul's "Rest of the Story" broadcasts. Like me, they were initially bored. But it did not take long for Paul to captivate them as he did me.

They don't make them like Paul Harvey anymore. Today's acid-tongued talk show hosts think they must be constantly on the attack in order to earn their keep. But Paul Harvey knew the secret to winning an audience was to tell a good story.

And "that's the rest of the story."

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