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Despite all bad news, there's rest of story
(by Christine Thome - March 12, 2009)
BEYOND MY CONTROL, BY CHRISTINE THOME
Despite all bad news, there's rest of story
Listening to the television as I fixed dinner one night, I found myself feeling burdened and depressed by the onslaught of bad news followed by more bad news. The world seems to be spiraling out of control, and the only control I have is to turn off the television and turn on some feel-good music.
Just as I was reaching for the off button, a news item came on that stopped me in my tracks. Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer who coined the phrase, "the rest of the story," had died at the age of 90. I must admit, at age 42, I am probably a little young to be a fan of Paul Harvey, but he made a big impression on me and my writing style.
To people of my generation and younger, Paul Harvey might be considered old-fashioned, a fuddy-duddy best suited for background noise in a dentist's office. And that is exactly where I heard Paul Harvey for the first time -- in my father's dental office.
During my high school and college summers, I worked as an assistant in my father's busy dental office. Those summers were some of my best. Not only did I learn how to fill cavities, take X-rays and prep patients for root canals, but I learned a lot about the true nature of people.
Although I argued for some upbeat music to keep us awake, probably Aerosmith and AC/DC at that time, my father insisted that we play a soft station from Chicago, because, in his words, "It's not offensive to anyone." Not offensive to anyone over the age of 40, I almost said, but I figured it was his office, and he could put his patients to sleep in whatever manner he chose.
Although I would never admit it to my friends, I soon found myself humming to the elevator music and, more surprisingly, looking forward to Paul Harvey's twice-daily broadcasts of "the rest of the story."
Paul Harvey was a true storyteller. His deep, slow voice was mesmerizing and forced you to stop what you were doing to listen to his stories. The first part of his radio broadcast often detailed the trials and tribulations that a person, yet unnamed, had endured. These burdens consisted of repeat failures or financial, mental and physical hurdles.
After a short commercial break, Paul Harvey would come back with "the rest of the story" and reveal the identity of the person: someone listeners would now recognize as a leader and very successful person, someone you never imagined had endured great burdens to become the success he or she eventually became. Mr. Harvey would always end his broadcasts with, "Now you know the rest of the story."
Looking back on the years I worked in my dad's office, I'm not sure why I was so inspired by Mr. Harvey. In my late teens and early 20s, I was fortunate to be attending a good college, I had a family that supported and encouraged me unconditionally, and my future held great promise. But perhaps I did have doubts and worries at that young age, doubts and worries that have been forgotten and replaced by even greater adult fears and concerns.
Every person, every family and every company suffers failures, doubts and pains. What may seem unimaginable hurdles to some are trivial compared to what others are enduring, particularly at this point in our history. And that is why we need someone like Paul Harvey now more than ever.
We need to be reminded that brick walls placed in our paths are not meant to stop us, but to be climbed, even if we slip and fall back down several times. Today is simply the tomorrow we worried about yesterday, and, as hard as it may be, we must use this difficult time to reinvent ourselves, reconstruct our expectations for the future and review our priorities.
Paul Harvey would ask us all, "What will be the rest of your story?"
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