It is rare in our lifetimes that we have many brushes with greatness.  But this is exactly how I would categorize the last six years working, writing, researching and producing for Neal Boortz.  I have had a front row seat for the grand finale of an amazing career.  My only regret is that I haven’t been around longer.

Whether or not he will admit it, Neal is one of the smartest people I have ever met.  Period.  End of story.  I’m sure this is evident if you listen to him, but working with him behind the scenes really drives this point home.  His ability to recall names, dates, facts, figures or stories is remarkable.  What’s even more remarkable is his ability to tell those stories, an art which is dying.  While most talk show hosts have extensive notes and semi-scripts for their shows, Neal is virtually 100% unscripted.  That’s impressive.  Sure, we do show prep, but it is Neal’s unpredictable quality that keeps him engaging and entertaining.  When he gets started on a topic (sometimes with little warning!), I’ll dig up a story related to it and hand it to him while he is in mid-sentence.  Without missing a beat and without me having to say a word, he knows exactly why that story is in his hand and he expands upon it in a way that only I could dream. 

Neal is rightfully known for his humor and razor-sharp wit.  It is this intangible quality that separates him from any other host in this business today; it is this quality that attracts listeners of all ages, political backgrounds and walks of life to his show.  Even liberals will admit that he is funny.  It is my personal belief that most liberals who have called, emailed or Tweeted Neal wishing him ill-will are really just jealous.  It takes a lot of guts for someone to say exactly what they think – something which many of us only wish we had the gonads to do.  But liberals also get angry because every irreverent comment is always supported by classic, irrefutable Neal Boortz logic.  Liberals generally lack the ability to think logically, and thus Neal has made an art out of yanking liberal chains.  I’d dare say that Neal handles (or sometimes manhandles) callers better than anyone and this is for one reason: He is not afraid of a challenge.  Unlike most hosts, he LOVES taking calls that disagree with him.  Belinda calls them “balls of yarn” for him to bat around. 

After 42 years of accepting such challenges, you would think that he would be withered and worn but quite the opposite.  You see, I think that the key to Neal’s success has been the fact that he never takes himself too seriously.  Even when tackling the hard-hitting political issues of the day, Neal never forgets that he is here to entertain.  He explains this in his book, “Maybe I Should Just Shut Up and Go Away.”  His role on paper is to keep people listening to the radio long enough to listen to commercials.  But we know that his role in our lives is more than that …

The amazing thing about radio or television is that we are able to form our own personal relationships with the “characters” we see or hear daily.  They become important to us for different reasons.  They affect us in various ways.  No one listener has the same “relationship” with Neal as another.  What’s amazing about Neal is how much he has allowed us into his life throughout the years.  People always ask me, “What’s Neal really like?”  And I can honestly say that he is exactly the same as what you hear on the air.  There is no faking it.  He is genuine and I think the listeners can tell and appreciate that level of honesty. 

What’s interesting is that Neal is actually pretty shy in groups of unknown people.  That’s not to say that what he does behind the mic is an act, but it’s different than being thrust into a dinner or a party where you hardly know anyone.  But once you peel back the layers of shyness and become a familiar soul upon which he can rely, there is no one more loving than he.  If you are someone whom Neal cares for, he will jump without hesitation to help out when someone is in need.  Belinda and I call this his “big brother” instincts whereby he wants to protect his little sisters on the playground from nasty bullies.  He is loyal and that is something you cannot buy.  He always says that the greatest status symbol is a long-term marriage.  I couldn’t agree more.  He must be a stand-up guy to be married to an incredible woman like Donna for all of these years.  She brings out the best is Neal.  That is a precious gift and that is why I couldn’t be more proud and happy for Neal to start this next journey in life with his Queen.  He deserves it.  They deserve it.  And while I, like the rest of you, want to be selfish and keep him around, at the end of the day I just want him to be happy.

I would go as far as to say that Neal Boortz is legendary in the world of talk radio.  Knowing Neal, he will probably groan at my saying that!  But I have it on good authority that a fair number of people will agree with me … and he has his place in the Radio Hall of Fame to back it up.  But who really gets to pick life’s legends anyways?  If your listeners and those closest to you believe it to be true, then isn’t that really all that matters?  It’s the lives you’ve touched which matter most, and we have dubbed you with the “legendary” status.  So just embrace it!

At the end of the day, in the span of Neal’s epic career, I am merely the guy who tuned the guitar strings for Elvis Pressley .. or the person who sealed up Neil Armstrong’s suit as he prepared to step foot on the moon.  But brushes with greatness – no matter how big or how small – can serve as lessons, if we allow them.  Of all the lessons, I can say AMF to Neal with a new-found confidence I never had before someone like him believed in me .. to be an independent thinker .. to live life to its fullest .. and to proclaim my rarity.

As I always tell Neal after he has done a great rant on the air, “That’ll do, pig.  That’ll do.”  

With all my respect and admiration - AMF Neal!