Now, Steve, you say, he was a right-wing shit his whole life. Yeah, but he was MY right-wing shit. Having been born 100 miles west of Chicago, I grew up with him on my radio, ether on WLS (where he was on in Chicago until 20 years ago, when he went to WGN) or on one of the endless numbers of stations that carried him throughout the country. (Note - I listened to him here on Forrest City's KXJK-AM, a nice little station - I REFUSE to listen to WREC for anything but Tiger athletics).
He was an unmistakable voice, one that represented what we always thought of as Middle America, one that was inevitably to the right of me since I moved left, about the age of 12. Yet, even when he said something that made me cringe, he found a way to make me smile right afterward. Many's the time I would turn off Harvey for saying something, even subtly, that pissed me off, only to turn him back on the next day.
You see, he was a BROADCASTER in every sense of the word. He never tried to target any specific audience, he read the news with enough editorializing to notice, but never so much that you could stay mad at him for every long. That, my friends, is a talent we haven't seen in years, nor are likely to see again any time soon.
Unlike the hate-mongering assholes that fill our airwaves now, Paul Harvey could be right-wing without being vicious; he was like your right-wing uncle that made you wince yet would be the first to get you a beer when you went to see him. He had a hold on anyone 50+(which I am) that grew up within the sound of his voice. And when he created The Rest Of The Story, he endeared himself to new generations of fans.
In the end, since he lost the love of his life, Lynne (known as Angel, she was his producer until her death in 2008), this is not a surprise. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, as yet another piece of my childhood leaves with him.
Mr. Harvey, GOOD DAY.
3 comments:
I noticed on the Paul Harvey website there is a statement on his passing from George W. Bush. Cripes, dude, you're not president anymore. Go off into the sunset already.
Like you, I'm 50+. My mom grew up in Tulsa, OK where Harvey grew up. Harvey was a fixture on our radio when I was a child. I loved his "Rest of the Story" episodes.
SB - how inappropriate! Can't you contain you hatred for at least long enough to allow someone to be respectfully mourned? Harvey's death isn't about Bush and neither is your hatred. You need a help.
DAD, I wanted W to be eaten by bears.
In any event, Paul Harvey was a legend whose like we will not see again...
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