SoCS

SoCS – The Rest of the Story

Maggie

It’s that time again. Linda challenges us to think and write on our feet – Stream of Consciousness Style. If you are curious what SoCS is all about, check out Linda’s post for all the details. Join the fun while you are there.

Today’s prompt is as follows:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “rest.” Use it any way you like. Enjoy!

If you are near my age and grew up in the States, then my subject line most likely triggered a memory for you.

Paul Harvey was an American Radio Broadcaster. He is a case of ‘sometimes life is better when you don’t know everything.’ I will explain more on that later.

He did a radio segment known as “The Rest of the Story”.  The segment consisted of a short story about a person or event and then at the end the story would end with a surprising twist. Then Harvey would conclude with his trademark phrase “And now you know the rest of the story”.

The story I recall most of all was a story about someone who crawled into a nuclear reactor where the fuel rods had suffered a partial meltdown. This person, with a team of other highly trained individuals, would each be lowered into the reactor for 90 second intervals to clean the reactor. The man was former President, Jimmy Carter.

Paul Harvey was very right wing and today, as an adult, I would object to him and the company he kept. But as a kid I was oblivious to that and I loved listening to his radio segments – the non-news segments of course. He was revealed to be friends with Joseph McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover and rumored to be involved with some members of a very well known hate group.

Sometimes, knowing all the details about someone tarnishes your memories. And that, my friend, is truly the rest of the story..

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35 thoughts on “SoCS – The Rest of the Story”

  1. Yes indeed sometimes a little knowledge is a blessing….I rest my case.
    Was Jimmy Carter a worker in a Nuclear plant, I thought he was a peanut farmer! … What do I know 💜💜

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Ditto about Paul Harvey. As a child I liked his radio history segments, then as an adult I found out who he truly was and could never listen to him again.

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    1. This is the reason I never thought of celebrities as role models. Their real lives were always a bit of a disappointment to me. I did love those stories, though. The interesting thing is that a lot of the credit goes to his wife Lynne. She developed and produced “The Rest of the Story” and had quite a career of her own.

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  4. I remember him. He had a unique way or orating and it was almost hypnotic. I didn’t know, though, until I read this post, about his political leanings.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. You have a good memory, Maggie. I either didn’t know these details or blocked them out. It’s interesting that we could be so entertained (and educated) by Paul Harvey’s stories and not realize his political positions. It speaks to commonality, I think. I do remember that my parents liked him and that he promoted a product, maybe it was Amway, or borax?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes, the FCC kept a watchful eye on the products he promoted. I remember Bose I think. I think we could all abide one another more then than we do know. The last few years changed that dramatically.

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  8. I either never heard this, or blocked it out. Your post reminds me of the MY PILLOW guy. A total tRumpian complaining that his business is not doing well because people don’t like his affiliation. So now his 99 dollar pillows are 30 bucks. Says something to me for sure.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. He had an amazing radio voice and I loved these segments. I try not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I cherish the memories, but dislike his associations. I put a clip in my reply to Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. I had never heard of that man, but I rarely associate actors or celebrities with their private lives if I enjoy their work. Perhaps best not to know. 🙂
    The ‘me-too’ movement exposed so many nasty individuals in recent years. Some I could guess were like that, (Weinstein) others surprised me. (Spacey)
    Best wishes, Pete.

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