Most of my time in the radio business was spent as a disc jockey or program director – I did serve as chief engineer of one station – but one of my most memorable experiences came as a newsman.
I was working at KSFA in Nacogdoches, when I happened to be in the right place at the right time. I did the first in-depth interview with Governor John Connally after the Kennedy assassination.
The Governor was in town for a fund raiser for an organization that his wife, Nellie, supported. He still had his right arm in a cast when he sat down with me for a half hour of conversation. I didn’t learn anything earth-shaking, nothing that added to the overwhelming mass of knowledge and mis-information flying around, but I came away completely impressed with the man.
Connally went on to serve in other offices, such as Secretary of Treasury in the Nixon administration, and after a switch in political parties, was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 1980. I always thought he would have been a good one – he was a good governor, and he looked presidential. I can’t think of anyone in my lifetime that looked more like a leader.
That's COOL Dad! I never knew that :)
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