I Still Miss Glenn Mitchell

Yesterday, KERA 90.1 (our local NPR station) broadcast a memorial, a retrospective show, of the Christmas Blockbuster show, a tribute to its creator and 30-year host, Glenn Mitchell. If you don't know who Glenn Mitchell was, let me tell you. He was a brilliant radio talk show host who spent more than 30 years on the air at KERA in Dallas. His noontime talk show was exceptional. I wrote last month about his death.

Listening to the show yesterday, I realized how I had come to look forward to it each year. It was a mixture of Christmas music and education. Glenn was, apparently, a fan of everything related to Christmas and he educated his listeners over the years. His Christmas Blockbusters often talked about the origins of various Christmas traditions...for example, the evolution of Santa Claus, how mistletoe go into the act, who some of the characters in Christmas carols were, how some carols have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, et. I assume he was a religious guy, but the only reason I assume that is his fascination with Christmas. He never said a word, that I recall, about his religious beliefs. I'm not a believer, but found his Chistmas Blockbusters wonderful. I love lots of Christmas music...Eartha Kitt, singing Santa Baby, is fantastic...I've come to really enjoy lots of jazz and blues versions of traditional Christmas carols. All of this is attributable to Glenn Mitchell. I admire the guy alot. I miss him and his shows. He was, as lots of people are saying, a renaissance man. Would that I were.

I really hope KERA will compile a CD of some of Glenn's interviews. He asked wonderful questions and was a wonderfully gracious host. The breadth of people he interviewed was amazing. Politicians, authors, musicians...you name it. People of every political stripe...people so different from one another it was hard to imagine this one guy speaking the same language to all of them. His Friday shows were among my favorites..."everything you ever wanted to know." People would call in with questions, and others would call in with answers. Sometimes, he'd hold those shows at the public library, where he would challenge library staff to do research and provide the answers.

If I have another career in me, I'll model it after Glenn Mitchell. He deserves to be honored by being remembered and emulated.