That Time I Met Tony Kornheiser
I’ve referred to different albums and genres of music as “the soundtrack of” suchandsuch season of life. But here’s the truth:
On a car radio while taking money to the bank in suburban Washington D.C.
On a slow Windows PC.
On a work issued laptop and 3 generations of iPod Nanos
On a variety of mobile phones
Tony Kornheiser’s radio show/podcast has been the sound track of my adult life.
Kornheiser, a long island native living in DC for 40+ years, was a long time WaPo writer and cohosts a popular ESPN show, Pardon the Interruption. But for decades he was also on the radio and continues to podcast at 73 years old.
Ostensibly a sports show, it’s often been more an adult talk show. Different iterations of the show had different vibes; my favorite was Tony with friend and former Post editor, Jeanne McManus. Tony waxes and whines and Jeanne puts him in his place. Politics, sports, current events, and his curmudgeonly old man challenges are the talk of the day. A serious comment and a sincere concern, followed by jokes about a toaster, a late newspaper, or the fact that his grocery store is OUT OF COTTAGE CHEESE.
He’s followed me while I mow the yard, go for walks, and so many commuting miles in the car. Spring cleaning and summer projects…Tony and the gang; they’ve been there.
A few years back, my family graciously agreed to drive through the night to arrive in DC a day earlier than planned. I slept an hour and went the restaurant Tony owned at the time and had breakfast during a taping of the podcast. Takeaway: Kornheiser is sneaky tall.
The show is full of inside jokes. It is a delight. It is a comfort.
I know this won’t go on forever. Nothing does. But I won’t think about that too much. I’ll just download the latest episode this spring and get the lawnmower ready for summer.
–This is day 30 of the 31 day writing challenge, courtesy of twowritingteachers.org; hopefully my page here will be back to some regular teacher thoughts, if I can keep the writing momentum!–
Tim's Teaching Thoughts 
La Cheeserie!
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I love the pace of the beginning – the repetition adds to the mood and the meaning. It is great you got to meet him. Funny, I don’t have one author, podcast, or show that has stayed with me throughout the years. Now I wish I did.
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Thanks Clare! I’ve found with this piece and a few others that, due to many things, I’m publishing some very drafty versions of my writing. My bench of ideas and starters was low at the start and my time constrained.
The pace at the beginning…I could have mirrored it at the end. A couple of specific anecdotes or quotes would have made it better. But…shrug.
I opted to participate knowing this…don’t let good be the enemy of great and all. And it’s been good for me. And reading others has been a delight.
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