And now we know .... the rest of the story.
I was sad to hear Paul Harvey died yesterday, February 28th. Interestingly, he died exactly 12 years to the day after my dad passed away.
Harvey was an icon in American culture. As far as I'm concerned, he was a legend. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom four years ago, Harvey's career spanned 75 years, but he first received national acclaim in 1951 when his program, "Paul Harvey News and Commentary" debuted. Harvey cut back to part time in May 2008 at the age of 89, after 57 years of daily broadcasts and as the show's only writer. Remarkable.
I remember my parents listening to him every day and they always got a chuckle out of his insights, wit and wisdom. He was one of those rare breeds who had the gift of saying things just so, never offending anyone, but always getting his point across -- in most cases, quite powerfully.
"The Rest of the Story," a short program in which Harvey would talk about the story behind a famous event or person, was a staple at our house during supper. We would listen to him as we ate our meal, trying to guess who or what he was talking about. And at the end of the broadcast he would reveal the subject of his story, concluding, with his trademark pauses as if giving us time to reflect on what he had just said:
"And now you know............... the rest of the story............ Paul Harvey......... Good day!"
God bless you, Mr. Harvey. You'll be sadly missed.
Harvey was an icon in American culture. As far as I'm concerned, he was a legend. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom four years ago, Harvey's career spanned 75 years, but he first received national acclaim in 1951 when his program, "Paul Harvey News and Commentary" debuted. Harvey cut back to part time in May 2008 at the age of 89, after 57 years of daily broadcasts and as the show's only writer. Remarkable.
I remember my parents listening to him every day and they always got a chuckle out of his insights, wit and wisdom. He was one of those rare breeds who had the gift of saying things just so, never offending anyone, but always getting his point across -- in most cases, quite powerfully.
"The Rest of the Story," a short program in which Harvey would talk about the story behind a famous event or person, was a staple at our house during supper. We would listen to him as we ate our meal, trying to guess who or what he was talking about. And at the end of the broadcast he would reveal the subject of his story, concluding, with his trademark pauses as if giving us time to reflect on what he had just said:
"And now you know............... the rest of the story............ Paul Harvey......... Good day!"
God bless you, Mr. Harvey. You'll be sadly missed.
