The Rest of the Story

Will we ever know?

It is true, we often don’t know what we have until it is gone. I never really appreciated Paul Harvey when I was younger. Occasionally I would hear his segments on the radio, but I never really paid much attention to what was being said. A recent segment of the Joe Rogan Experience brought back memories of Paul Harvey, but it also really shocked me how accurate his predictions were back in 1965. Here is the segment below:

So, years after his death Paul Harvey’s signature voice rings in my ear. His wisdom spanning the decades and predicting the exact life that we all live today in America, causes me to want to hear more. Sadly, Paul Harvey is no longer with us. You will be missed Mr. Harvey; you are already missed.

The show that Mr. Harvey is most popular for is the “Rest of the Story” and is described as this:

The Rest of the Story, in which he provided backstories behind famous people and events. The Rest of the Story premiered on May 10, 1976, on ABC Radio. The series quickly grew to six broadcasts a week and continued until his death in 2009. It was written and produced by his son, Paul Harvey, Jr., from its outset and for its 33-year duration. Harvey and his radio network stated that the stories in that series, although entertaining, were completely true. – Wikipedia

I went back to find some of these old episodes and asked the question: “why was this show so popular?” What is it about this radio program that made it last 33 years? The stories are certainly interesting, and there is usually a clever plot twist in the way it is presented but I think there is more to it. I think part of the answer was revealed to me recently.

There is a small independent movie theater near my office that I took the occasion to visit around the holidays. They were playing the movie “The boys in the boat.” I am a sucker for movies based on real life stories. I won’t give away too much of the movie for those who have not seen it yet save this one thing: don’t wait around for the end credits.

Being a fan of Marvel movies, I have made it a habit of sticking around after the credits to get an important preview of the upcoming addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It turns out I do the same for movies based on real life stories. I want to know the rest of the story. I want to know what happened to the characters and how their lives were changed and/or unfolded after the events in the movie. It turns out I was not the only one who did this. The entire theater waited around after the credits of the Boys In The Boat only to be sadly disappointed.

                Watching Band Of Brothers this weekend only solidified this idea that we want to know the rest of the story. My favorite episode is the last episode “Points” where we learn what happens to all the characters we followed from D-Day to the Eagles Nest.

Many of the characters in Easy company went on to live mostly unremarkable (by Hollywood’s standards) lives but it was still fascinating to know what careers went along with that personality. I am sure unremarkable was a welcome balance to what they endured in Easy company. Isn’t it true that we all desire to know the rest of the story? This is especially true if the rest of the story ends on a positive note. Some endings are not for everyone. Some endings might not inspire us. However, the desire to know these stories still exists I believe.

                So, all this got me thinking: what if, like the movie Boys In The Boat, we never get the rest of the story as it relates to Trump’s America? What if when it is all over, we are all sitting around looking at each other in bewilderment? What if we never find out in this life what is going on behind the scenes as we speak. Would we be okay not knowing and just having our country back? I suspect that is true for most Americans. A lot of time, energy, and money has been spent trying to hypothesize what is going on (something is going on for sure). It is very likely we will never discover the full plan.

                The rest of my life’s story is still being written and rewritten. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. I hope to have left a lasting legacy that my children can appreciate one day. I desire to know the rest of the story about America as I am sure many of you do too. Perhaps we will never know. Maybe we won’t know for another fifty years. It took fifty years to learn all about the Ghost Army. What would Paul Harvey have to say in his sage wisdom?

As much as we may want the Rest of the Story or long for a future that is better than the present day for us and our children, the truth is that all we have is today. We must live in the present and pray for a better tomorrow. There is a certain peace and, dare I say restfulness in not knowing what tomorrow brings. Maybe there is rest in leaving tomorrow to God. Maybe the Rest of the Story is as elusive as tomorrow: always approaching but never present.

Biernutz_71

2/5/2024

“I would rather die with Christ and hope in my heart and be called a fool than to stand over the dead corpse of the republic and say I told you so.”