Client Profile: Walt Bodine

The years have taken their physical toll of the man. Arthritis has made it difficult for him to walk and has shrunken his already modest frame. Retinitis pigmentosa has stolen his sight over the span of some 35 years, leaving him blind for the past six years. His hearing is so impaired that he requires hearing aids in both ears. Pain is a constant companion, further limiting his ability to walk on his own. In addition to the many physical insults he has borne, he has also endured the heartache associated with losing his wife and lifelong partner of more than 52 years, Bernie, last year after a 15-year struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Despite his own infirmities, he shared the role of care-giver in their home, honoring a promise he had made not to place her in a nursing home. Through it all, he has shown grace and good humor. We sat across from each other at lunch recently, and with his sunglasses removed, his eyes still sparkled and his smile was infectious as we talked of mutual friends and he recounted stories drawn from his many years as a communicator. For more than 64 years, Walt Bodine has pursued his trade of broadcasting, including the past 20 years as host of one of the more popular radio shows on public radio, "The Walt Bodine Show," which airs Monday through Friday mornings on KCUR, our local affiliate of National Public Radio. During our conversation he noted that, over the course of his professional life, he has worked for seven radio stations and four television stations, remarking, "I've been in radio longer than I've been alive." In a medium marked by changing content and characters, Walton Marshall Bodine's voice has achieved tremendous familiarity with Kansas City radio audiences. Although not as strong as it used to be, it remains readily recognizable and continues to be welcomed into thousands of Kansas City area homes. In a number of differing broad¬cast venues, he has hosted many famous personalities, such as Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, President Harry S. Truman, Thomas Hart Benton and Chet Huntley, among others, as well as many less-than-household names. As he says in his recent book, My Times, My Town: "There's not a big name every single day. But there is a big chance that you'll learn something from every single guest. If the interview is handled well, you inform, amuse and sometimes astonish your listeners." In his hometown of Kansas City, he has become an icon of sorts, a reassuring symbol of constancy in a time of turbulence and ongoing change. At the age of 83, though his step has become more painful and measured, his enthusiasm for his craft remains unimpaired. If asked, Walt would likely tell you that he continues working because he needs the money. Whatever the truth in that claim, the greater truth is that broadcasting has been his life's dream and is as much a part of him as the air he breathes. When asked what his future plans were, he suggested that he has a couple of books in mind and that he would continue with KCUR as long as he can, doing what he loves best. Still, Walt readily admits his discontent with the current state of the broadcast and written com¬munications industry. In his book he observes, "For too long news directors have operated on the theory, 'If it bleeds, it leads.' Maybe they should consider that the audience requires something more than blood and gore and sex. Can it really be that the only thing that interests us is human misbehavior? ...Emphasis put on the daily bucket of blood does nothing to answer the broad array of serious problems facing the nation, the states and the city." However, his dissatisfaction with his chosen profession does not mean that he would rather be doing something else. On the contrary, like a loving parent who may disapprove of the actions of his children, the intent of his criticism is to improve rather than simply to condemn. Despite his age and his infirmities, he remains upbeat about what he does, and graciously acknowledges the help he receives that allows him to get on with his life and his work. At the close of his book he observes, "...Friends and colleagues are unfail¬ingly helpful, but every now and then I have to fall back on the philosophy espoused by Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire and depend upon the kindness of strangers." A client of the firm for a number of years, when asked what it was that drew him to Meara, King & Co., Walt spoke of the kindness of Julie Welch. Though she is no longer a stranger to Walt, her attentiveness to his needs and willingness to listen to his questions are the embodiments of the firm for him.