R.I.P. Paul Harvey

I heard on the radio today that Paul Harvey died at age 90. Wow--I grew up with his voice. When I was a child, we listened to him on the radio every day at noon, regular as clockwork. I can clearly hear his voice in my head--even though it has been many years since I heard his show. I mentioned his death to David; he also was raised on Paul Harvey. It is a little startling when such a stalwart of your life departs--even though you never really knew them.

I spoke with my friend Catherine this morning and we discussed Paul Harvey. She mentioned that it is hard to lose people like Paul Harvey and Paul Newman because she feels as though her era is slipping away. That clicked for me, too. Pretty soon others will be gone--like Andy Griffith and Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Redford. These are the famous people we have known all of our lives. Instead we will be left with P. Diddy and Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Yuk. They lack the class of those who came before them.

The only other radio voice that I can recall that was so memorable for me on an everyday basis was the announcer on the Armed Forces Network radio station when I lived in Europe and worked for the Department of Defense. On the hour and even half hour the station announced the news and finished with "This is AFN and you are up to date"--as familiar as Paul Harvey.

I enjoy the nostalgia of thinking about these voices and people. I miss them.