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I remember listening to Paul Harvey starting at a very young age.  Man, I remember sitting in my GREAT-grandparents kitchen when I was very young, listening every day at noon as they babysat me while my mother went to work.  I'm telling ya, those were the days... when I didn't have a care in the world.

Now that I think about it, I believe those days were the earliest memories I have!  Sitting and listening to that old time radio in that kitchen is very likely what sparked my interest in broadcasting.  I can look back now and laugh at how I would sit by myself in my room as a child and imitate Paul Harvey.

As I grew into a driving teenager, I would sit in my truck at noon and listen to Paul Harvey.  It didn't matter if I arrived at my destination.  I would sit in the truck on a beautiful day with the windows rolled down and my head resting on the seat until Paul was finished.  After all, I always felt he was talking directly to me.  How could I walk away from a conversation with Paul Harvey?

And that brings me to one of the most pleasurable memories I have of my broadcasting career.  I went to work for KFDI radio here in Wichita when I was 19 years-old.  I worked the overnight news shift for quite a while.  Every once in a while, I'd hear of a quirky news story that I thought might interest Paul for his "Rest of the Story" broadcast.

Since I worked for a station that carried his broadcast, we had Paul Harvey's office number in Chicago.  I remember calling that number five or six times over the years to offer stories to his writers.  But the last time I offered a story to them, I was shell shocked when I dialed the office number and heard the voice on the other end of the line.

"Paul Harvey News.  This is Paul.  May I help you?"  <This is where there was a lo-o-ong pause while my jaw dropped to the floor!>  "Hello?  May I help you?" he said.

OH MY GOD!!!  I'm speaking to THE Paul Harvey!  I remember tapping on the glass of the studio over to my boss, Dan Dillon.  I was pointing at the phone through the sound-proof glass while slowly mouthing the words P-aulll HAR-veeee.  I can still remember Dan yelling back through the glass, "Well talk to him!!!"

I remember introducing myself and telling him hello, but that I really needed to apologize for pausing to compose myself.  After all, I couldn't believe I was actually speaking on the phone with THE Paul Harvey... one of the biggest idols of my life.  He gave me a very big belly laugh that I will never forget and then started asking all about ME!  Paul Harvey seemed genuinely interested in ME!

Paul started his radio career at KVOO in Tulsa, which was eventually bought by Mike Oatman (Ol' Mike, to Wichitan's) and Mike Lynch and brought into the Great Empire Broadcasting family.  He was very familiar with KFDI and it's early predecessor, KFBI.

He asked all about me.  How old was I?  How long had I been in radio?  I told him I started at KFDI when I was 19.  He told me he had me beat by five years and that he got his first radio job at the ripe old age of 14!  I just couldn't get over how this radio legend that I idolized was genuinely interested in me.

I finally told him about the story I had for him.  It was about a police call that I had heard from officers I worked closely with.  The cops had been called to a home by neighbors concerned that two children were living in filthy conditions at home.  When the officers arrived, they noticed mom and dad were communicating with the small children in a very strange language.  It didn't seem like any language they had ever heard before.

The officers did notice an extremely filthy home and they also noticed that there was Star Trek memorabilia all over the house.  Books, movies, posters, anything you can imagine that had a Star Trek theme.  But they couldn't figure out how the parents were communicating with their children.  This is really strange, they thought.  So one of the officers asked the father and things began to really unravel.

"We're speaking the Klingon language," the father said.

<Insert a horrible record-player scratching sound here.>

"WHAT?!?!" the officers asked.

"Our kids are not allowed to speak English in the home," the man said.  "We only communicate in the Klingon language."

Sure enough, these people had taught their children the entire Klingon language and strictly spoke ONLY Klingon!

After telling the story to Paul, there came a long pause on the other end.  Uh oh, I thought.  Did I just put Paul Harvey to sleep?  Then suddenly...   HA HA HA HA!!!  There was an even bigger belly laugh than before when I told him I just couldn't believe I was actually speaking to him in the first place.

"That's hilarious!" he exclaimed.  "I want it."

So there I was, sitting in my KFDI mobile unit during the morning edition of Paul Harvey news.  And here he comes with MY STORY!  I will never forget that day.  I still have the recording on a cassette tape somewhere in my house.  I believe I'll go find it and listen to it when I get home tonight.  I will probably shed a little tear.

I knew Paul wasn't in good health these days.  I remember hearing him return to the air one day last week and thinking to myself that he just didn't sound well.  Mind you, he sounded great by any radio standard.  But it was painfully obvious to me that I could very well be listening to the last broadcast of a legend.

Rest in peace, Paul Harvey.  You put a smile on millions of faces every single day, including mine.  I will never forget the day I had a wonderful conversation with you.  I truly wish you a... "Good Day!"