Harry The K

Dear Friends,
I always had a list of "4 people I'd really like to meet at some point" I used to keep in the back of my head, always thinking "If I get to meet one of those guys, it's a be a really memorable moment" Those 4 people were Paul Newman, Joey Ramone, Joe Strummer and broadcaster Harry Kalas. As of yesterday afternoon, Harry Kalas passed away in DC....which made it everyone on that list had passed. Harry was the only one on that list I'd had the chance to meet. We'll get to that story in just a second.

Now, let me say a bit about the great Harry Kalas. I'd bounced around a bit and had always been the "new kid" til about 7th grade when I'd finally stayed put. Wherever I went, wherever I was living, Harry was on TV, he was on the radio, he was broadcasting all the Phillies games. I'd listened through middle school, in high school, college, filming, traveling...wherever I was, I always had a great sense of comfort that Harry was talking, cheering and just making sure that everyone that was listening to him that night...he was making sure those folks were having a great time. Now for all of you non Phillies fans, Harry has also done voice work for NFL films and even some film trailers, like Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Hustle". Trust me, at some point you've all heard Harry's voice. For me, Harry's voice was summertime. It was as synonomous with summer as the bells of an ice cream truck or the smell of sun tan lotion. When you heard Harry, you knew it was summer, and it was time to kick back and enjoy it.
His voice was one of the reasons I'd started out in radio....I'd always hoped that going into that, I wanted to keep the enthusiasm up that Harry had always had in his voice for 40 years, but how do you do that? How do you do anything for 40 years and still remain so excited, happy and driven by it? I was inspired by it, and I'd wanted to do the same thing.

So the one night I had a chance to meet Harry, it was a wild time. I had a side gig as a bartender at this sawnky country club. And this particular evening, I was bartending this holiday party for a bunch of lame bankers. These were guys with too much starch in their shirts who'd say things like "scintillating" as much as humanly possible. Then I got word, the party next door was being hosted by Ruley Carpenter, the owner of the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. I had to go and check it out, I ditched my party with the bankers (now I never said I was a good bartender) and went to go hang out at the Phillies party. There, across the room, was Harry Kalas. What struck me about him, was that he had time for EVERYONE. He also made sure to give a kind word to everyone at the party, the wait staff, the busboys, the piano player, it was like these people had known Harry forever, and in a way, through tv and radio, they had. Harry came over to me and extended his hand and said "I want to thank you for bartending such a great event" which was pretty funny. It wasn't even my event, my event probably had a bunch of bankers lined up at the bar wondering where on earth the bartender went. But Harry and I talked for about 15 minutes, just talking about music and a little bit of baseball. He was just as you'd hoped he'd be, funny, warm and kind. That voice just BOOMED. After that party was over, I'd stood around with a bunch of folks, and we told our favorite Harry moments (for me it was Jim Thome's 400th home run, try and find it on YOUTUBE, it was just great "Could it be.....IT IS!") then that segued into our own Harry impressions. It just showed what an impact he had on not just me, but everyone.

So yesterday in DC when Harry left us, it was a guarantee that baseball for me, will never be the same, but it was a guarantee, that through stories and the years and the great clips....that Harry is gone, but his legacy will live forever.Let's just hope he's up there leading all the angels and saints in a loud and rowdy version of "HIGH HOPES"

So with that, wherever you are, I wish you all the best...take care, be good and if you feel like it, raise a glass for the great Harry The K.