Sunday, September 23, 2007

Happy Birthday Mr. Harvey

"In times like these, it helps to recall that there have always been times like these."
~Paul Harvey

I've always loved Paul Harvey. Even as a youngster I would sit and listen nearly spellbound to his unique voice and manner of speaking. It hardly mattered to me what the subject matter might be, there was always something so intriguing about the way he talks and how he presents his stories.

Paul Harvey celebrated his 89th birthday on the fourth of September and he's still broadcasting strong. He's nearing the end of a 10-year contract with ABC Radio worth $100 million.

Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Paul Harvey has been called the "largest one-man network in the world." His show, "The Paul Harvey News" is carried on 1,200 radio stations, 400 Armed Forces Network stations around the world and 300 newspapers. His broadcasts and newspaper columns have been reprinted in the Congressional Record more than those of any other commentator. Every week 22 million people “stand by” for Paul Harvey on more than 1,350 commercial radio stations, as well as 400 stations of the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Paul Harvey was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990. He has been named Salesman of the Year, Commentator of the Year, Person of the Year, Father of the Year, and American of the Year. He has been elected to the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Hall Of Fame and the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and appeared on the Gallup poll list of America's most admired men. In addition he has received 11 Freedom Foundation Awards as well as the Horatio Alger Award. Harvey served in the United States Army Air Forces from 1940 until 1944. Harvey is married to Lynne Harvey (née Cooper) of St. Louis. He is author of several books, the last of which "For What It's Worth," was written in 1991.
Statistics collected from Wikipedia

One of my absolute favorite pieces from Mr. Harvey is "Dirt Roads." I hope that you enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed it over the years.

DIRT ROADS

What's mainly wrong with society today is that too many Dirt Roads have been paved.

There's not a problem in America today, crime, drugs, education, divorce, delinquency that wouldn't be remedied, if we just had more Dirt Roads, because Dirt Roads give character.
People that live at the end of Dirt Roads learn early on that life is a bumpy ride. That it can jar you right down to your teeth sometimes, but it's worth it, if at the end is home...a loving spouse, happy children and a dog.

We wouldn't have near the trouble with our educational system if our children got their exercise walking a Dirt Road with other children, from whom they learn how to get along. There was less crime in our streets before they were paved. Criminals didn't walk two dusty miles to rob or rape, if they knew they'd be welcomed by 5 barking dogs and a double barrel shotgun. And there were no drive by shootings.

Our values were better when our roads were worse! People did not worship their cars more than their children and motorists were more courteous, they didn't tailgate by riding the bumper or the guy in front would choke you with dust & bust your windshield with rocks.
Dirt Roads taught patience.

Dirt Roads were environmentally friendly; you didn't hop in your car for a quart of milk you walked to the barn for your milk. For your mail, you walked to the mailbox. What if it rained and the Dirt Road got washed out? That was the best part, then you stayed home and had some family time, roasted marshmallows and popped popcorn and pony road on Daddy's shoulders and learned how to make prettier quilts than anybody.

At the end of Dirt Roads, you soon learned that bad words tasted like soap. Most paved roads lead to trouble, Dirt Roads more likely lead to a fishing creek or a swimming hole. At the end of a Dirt Road, the only time we even locked our car was in August, because if we didn't some neighbor would fill it with too much zucchini.

At the end of a Dirt Road, there was always extra spring time income, from when city dudes would get stuck, you'd have to hitch up a team and pull them out. Usually you got a dollar... always you got a new friend... at the end of a Dirt Road.
~Paul Harvey

Happy Birthday, Mr. Harvey

2 comments:

Mike said...

Yeah, I have listened to Paul Harvey as far back as I can remember. I can think of many occasions while driving down the road listening to an almost out-of-range AM radio signal, finding a spot with good reception and pulling over to the side of the road until I heard, "the rest of the story."

Good day???

Morgan said...

I grew up on Paul Harvey's stories. Bless him. Seems like he was a reasonable voice in the middle of a cacaphony. I've always wished him well.