July 2016 – The Unconventional Millennial

Today a friend of mine shared a YouTube video on Facebook that was a tribute to police officers written by Paul Harvey. Of course it was a touching tribute especially amidst everything occurring in our world today, but hearing Paul Harvey’s classic mid-America radio accent brought back a flood of memories.

Growing up we spent a lot of time at my grandparents who always had the radio on in their house and barn. In addition, my mom worked from home so when she went to town, so did we. I don’t mean to sound old here, but this was before Bluetooth capability so you either listened to the radio or CDs in the car and often times when we were buzzing from place to place it was the radio. Well one of the local radio stations out of LaGrange, KBUK, broadcasted Paul Harvey’s daily “Rest of the Story” segment shortly after the Texas State Network News at the top of the noon hour. The local radio host would chime in briefly between the two segments and say “and now here is Paul Harvey with the rest of the story”. As he muttered those 12 words, my brother and I did too…suddenly the radio host had two co-hosts. Now at a young age, after we introduced Paul Harvey, my brother and I were the least bit concerned about “the rest of the story”, but through his storytelling capability, memorable voice and look of interest from the adults we couldn’t help but listen to his 4 minute segment even if we didn’t know who John D. Rockefeller was, why we cared that the Ohio River didn’t have any bedrock to build a bridge in the late 1800s or what the placebo effect is. We listened anyways.

As we grew older, more and more stories became of interest as we understood the world around us. Suddenly, we took an interest towards Paul Harvey’s stories and became excited if we actually knew who or what he was talking about! It really is true, you do get wiser with age.

Now, right around the time I got my driver’s license is probably when I stopped listening to “the rest of the story” for a few reasons. One, because well I had control of the radio now and Bluetooth connectivity was also a thing and two, he passed away right around this time and I’m not too sure if KBUK continued to broadcast reruns or not. Nonetheless, until this video popped up on my newsfeed today I hadn’t given Paul Harvey much thought.

Well, as I scrolled through my Facebook and pressed play on this video and was greeted by that classic voice, I thought I should pause it and start it over so that I could give him his formal introduction of “now here is Paul Harvey with the rest of the story”. Of course I didn’t do this, but after watching the video I did track down “The Paul Harvey Show” podcast and got immersed into listening to various 4 minute segments. I learned that Merle Haggard almost escaped from San Quentin with his friend, but at the last minute decided not to in which his friend got caught and received the death penalty, 40 inventions that took place during the golden age of railroad invention in the 19th century were invented by women and John Hertz (founder of Hertz rentals) is noted for establishing yellow as the standard color for taxis, among other notable things. I just kept listening to story after story and you don’t even want to guess how many 4 minute segments you can listen to in a day.

Now I realize that Paul Harvey has his critics and while it’s questionable if all his stories are true, there is no denying his enticing storytelling ability. It’s not until the last 30 seconds that he reveals the person, place or thing he just spent the last 3 minutes and 30 seconds talking about, not to mention the way he told the story and suspense building up to this reveal was just as interesting as the reveal! As I listened, I mentally tried to figure out who or what he was talking about before he gave it away at the end and said “and now you know the rest of the story”.

Now, besides the fond memories it brought back of spending time with my grandparents or riding around with my mom, I actually found his stories interesting compared to 12 or 15 years ago. I love learning new things, hearing about people’s background and keeping my history skills sharp…and this is exactly what Paul Harvey did. He combined all three into a 4 minute segment, 6 days a week, for all to hear.

So I believe the next time I head out the door, I’ll connect to the Bluetooth in my car, turn on the podcast and it’ll be just like old times…except I’ll actually know what he is talking about and I won’t be faced with possibility of missing “the rest of the story” if I’m not in a position to tune in just after the noon hour…..I wonder what Paul Harvey would say about today’s technology?

A few months ago I was reading Texas Highways and stumbled across an ad for Lone Star Trapeze Academy. I’m assuming the layout and positioning of the ad initially caught my eye, but it was the fact that it read “Fly through the air with the greatest of ease and learn this circus act!” that really enticed me to head to their website, not to mention they are located right here in Bryan. This was perfect, because I’m always on the search to try or do something new…especially if it’s a physical activity. So this past weekend my best friend and I gave it a whirl and it was a blast!

On a typical, hot-sunny-Texas, Saturday afternoon we arrived to Bomber Stadium, home of our local Collegiate League baseball team to be greeted by the smell of popcorn and the sound of wooden bats. No my post hasn’t changed directions and while we would have, we weren’t here to cheer on the Bombers either….but to trapeze! The academy happens to be located just outside the fence of right field and along the opposing team dugout. So if your timing is right, you very well could be the 7th inning stretch entertainment or simply a distraction to the opposing team…..in which we were both the day we learned to trapeze.

We filled out some waivers, did about a minute and thirty-seven seconds worth of stretches, put on some safety equipment and then it was time to learn the fundamentals. We began with a bar that was about 8 or 10 feet off the ground and watched the instructor demonstrate how to pull our body around the bar and hang. After that, one by one we did this maneuver once and then it was time to head to the real thing.

To get up to the platform you climb up an extension ladder and no worries, you’re attached to a safety harness! 😉 Once you make it to the top you stand on a platform that can’t be much bigger than a 2 x 4. The instructor hands you the bar in which you are to grab with your right hand and then on his command you grab the other side with your left hand. This is where it gets a little scary….once you grab the bar with your left hang you’re dang close to hanging off the edge of the platform and the only thing holding you back is the instructor. Once again on his command you jump and follow what he says throughout the entire process and next thing you know you’re some kind of trapeze artist!

The instructors reiterated multiple times that it is just a game of Simon Says, if you do what they tell you to do when they tell you do it, you’ll be successful! And that’s no lie, you just had to trust them and do exactly as they said. It was obvious those who didn’t pay attention didn’t quite master the various “tricks” we learned. They also tell you “the first time is for fear, the second time is for fun”. That’s no lie either, it was a bit nerve-racking the first time, but after that you can’t wait to climb back up and try it again.

I was impressed that after only two hours and at 5’ 11’’ I was able to fly through the air, do some backflips and master the catch. No doubt I’ll be back, especially since they informed me that you’ll learn new tricks each time you return!

Check it out below!