“Hello, American This is Paul Harvey! Stand byyy for newwws!”

I loved to listen to the Paul Harvey show every day at noon. He’d report the news in an interesting way, and in a conservative manner. His radio programs from 1951 to 2008 were listened to 24 million people per week.

In his programs he spoke out about welfare cheats, national debt, big government, leftist radicals, bureaucrats, moral decay, and he backed the death penalty. He cared about God and country, individualism, and decency. Sounds like me – perhaps he was influential in some of my views.

I was lucky enough to see him speak at a speakers summit in Chicago, along with Bill Bennett, Benjamin Netanyahu, Tony Robinson, and Zig Ziglar. As renown and dynamic as those gentlemen are, it was Paul Harvey who’s speech shone the brightest.

Paul Harvey was born Paul Harvey Aurandt in 1918 and died in 2009. He served in the US Army Air Corps in 1943-1944 and was an avid pilot his whole life. His awards, civil, broadcast, and military were to many to list.

I read all of his books, especially the Rest of the Story, which he also used to broadcast. There were 148 stories done in this format, but none stood out to me more than the one about Kris. I will share with you the genius of Paul Harvey.

“As far back as anyone could remember, Kris knew where he was going. He was a clean-cut boy, bright and well behaved.  The kind of kid any parent would be proud to call their son.

His father was a major general in the Air Force and immensely proud of his son when Kris announced his intention to join the military. Kris was only ten years old at that time but he knew what he must do. His first concern was making good grades. To his classmates, he was a square. When others stayed out at night, Kris stayed home and studied. After high school he attended a private college in Claremont, CA. Again, he excelled in academics and athletics. He did not just play football, he became a football hero. And a Golden Gloves boxer. And a sports writer for the student paper. And a ROTC commander.

He eventually received the ultimate prestigious academic recognition, a Rhodes scholarship and on to Oxford. But there was no hesitation and no resting on his laurels. By the time Kris had reached Oxford he had written one novel and was beginning a second. But Kris had something else in mind. After achieving as much as any young man could achieve, Kris joined the Army, to his father’s delight.

He went through jump school. He went through Ranger school. He went through flight school. He became a pilot, a Captain, was stationed in Germany and came back to the US to become a major, and an instructor at West Point.

Some people just seem to know from early on in life where they’re headed. And so, Kris became a person you know. He became a number one recording artist of country classics and ballads. He was and is Kris Kristofferson.

I thought this was appropriate to bring out given the death of Kris this past week. You probably know this, but it was Kris who wrote the song “Me and Bobby McGee” made famous by Janis Joplin. How old were you when you learned that Janis and Kris dated?

In addition to the accolades about Kris mentioned by Paul Harvey, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He appeared in numerous movies, although I thought “A Star is Born,” was his best.

Oddly after serving the military honorably, attaining a rank of captain, he decided in 1965 to form a band and pursue song writing. His family disowned him over his choice. It is unknown if they ever reconciled.

As a songwriter in Nashville, he gave June Carter, Johnny Cash’s wife, a tape of his songs. Johnny ignored it. Kris had become a helicopter pilot for a petroleum company by then. Weeks after giving Ms. Carter that tape, Kris landed a helicopter on Cash’s front yard. After that stunt, Cash decided to record one of Kris’s songs, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down,” which won Kris Song of the Year in 1970.

Kris retired in 2021. He died in his home on Maui on September 2024. 

And now, you know the rest of the story.

Good Day!