We're moving into our house later this morning, and I was going to write post about that, but something has happened that I should post about first.
David Brudnoy, beloved radio talk show host, is dying. He has been battling AIDS for ten years and a rare form of cancer for the past few. It is a battle that he declared yesterday he cannot win. He is moments away from death, and last night a hospital bedside interview was aired in place of his show as a tribute and a goodbye to David.
David's nightly broadcast can be heard nationally, but he is a member of the local Boston WBZ 1030AM talk radio station. Years ago when I was working in Boston and worked late on a regular basis, I got to listening to his program. It happened by accident; I would be leaving the office at 7:00PM or later, and would put the AM talk station on to get a traffic report, and there was Bruds, one of the most interesting characters I have ever heard on radio, television, or any other medium.
I enjoy talk radio very much. My commute to work in the morning wouldn't be complete without Howard Stern, who I have been listening to now for over ten years. (And this is why I will become a Sirius Satellite Radio customer.) David Brudnoy became a part of my nightly ritual commuting home. There couldn't be two radio show hosts that are more opposite in the spectrum than Stern and Brudnoy; but in a strange way, the two are also very alike. They both have strong, not always popular opinions, and the two have forced me on many occasions to really reexamine some ideas that I thought I had all figured out for myself, because their arguements and their views were just so strong, well thought out and cohesive that it was difficult to even see merit in my own opinions anymore. What I like about Stern the most is he makes me laugh; but what I like about David Brudnoy the most is that he makes me THINK.
I was truly saddened to learn that David is hours away from death. I didn't get to fully listen to his goodbye program last night due to moving boxes into my house, but I guess I just wanted to say that a truly historic radio personality is facing death today in such a dignified, brave and honorable way that we should all take notice. And, my commute home at night is forever going to feel lonely, as I feel like I have lost an old friend.
Goodbye, Dave - we'll miss you terribly.