King’s interviews created memories

To the editor:

I'm sure you have all seen and heard by now that Larry King has passed on.

I'll add my own personal perspective for anyone interested.

Many years ago, I drove cross country as an active duty U.S. Navy sailor, both for transfer of duty stations a few times and then a lot of trips from Philadelphia to Indiana and back while attached to a command that was in dry dock in Philadelphia. A few years later I found myself driving across country, at night, for my profession.

In those days, with no satellite radio, like we have today, you had to constantly scan the radio dial to find programming as one station faded out. In that era, any evening or late night scan of the radio dial would turn up this guy, syndicated nationally on The Mutual Radio Broadcast Network, and I listened to him for a countless number of hours.

This was a good while before he was the CNN television icon he eventually became. I heard him interview people of every type and from every walk of life imaginable, from celebrities, royalty, dictators, despots, presidents and murderers. No one ever had a more diverse repertoire of interview subjects in a career that spanned over 60 years.

I distinctly recall one time on a show where he was the interviewee instead of the interviewer. He was asked who he regretted not being able to interview. Larry didn't skip a beat. He famously replied, "Oh, that's easy. I regret never being able to interview God. And the one question I would ask him is, “Why?”

Well, my friends, I will say I am thankful for many long hours and miles behind the wheel with Larry keeping me awake as I drove through the night. And I trust as I’m writing this today, on this Sabbath Day, Larry is at long last getting his one-on-one sit down interview with the big guy upstairs who has seen fit to call Larry up to the big leagues of interviewing, for all of eternity.

Goodbye Larry.

Thanks for the memories.

Sincerely,

James D Fulks III

Dunkirk