03-10-2010 WALT BODINE VOWS TO REMAIN ACTIVE Kansas City media icon Walt Bodine might be cutting back (LINK) his weekday radio show on KCUR to just one day a week, but on his blog he says he still will remain active. "Well, it's time for me to shift gears bit," said Bodine. "Since I'm turning 90 this year, it seems like a good time to scale things back and slow down a bit, but I'll still be around. I'm taking a couple weeks of vacation from my radio show right now. "When I get back, I'll still be on the air every Friday to host our two most popular features, "The Food Critics" and "The Movie Critics," and I also have a new project in the works. But KCUR will remain an important part of my life. Bodine expressed his thanks to all his loyal fans for their support over the years. "I wish I could say thank you personally, on the air, to each person who has participated over the years. I want to express my gratitude to the thousands of listeners and callers who follow my program. I can never forget the great parade of people from all walks of life who have shared their knowledge and experience with our listeners. I especially appreciate the long standing support of our regular guests, and I'm sure their involvement with KCUR and public radio will continue." He has no plans to slow down as he nears his ninth decade. "I plan to stay active, which includes increasing work on my blog, and publishing a new book. It will include compilations of my writing in a much different style than I've shared in the past, a creative writing streak of short stories, fables, skits, satire, and even a little poetry."
03-11-2010 WALT BODINE: KANSAS CITY "I could not let this topic continue without speaking up about Walt Bodine and my experience in KC. We moved here in 1980 to attend grad school and one of the first things we did that summer was go on the old barge/boat ride on the Missouri river. "It just so happened that Walt and his camera crew were along to do a feature and my whole family found him to be most friendly and delightful. He was wearing his captain's hat, too.
"We had no idea who he was at the time. We soon discovered who Walt was and I found myself listening to him on the radio as well as on the TV. Whenever a severe thunderstorm entered the area, Walt was on the air to help bring reports of callers on developing weather events so as to warn us all.
"When he began his talk show on KCUR I found myself listening daily and rarely missed a show. I even phoned in a few times.
"When you say Walt Bodine, to me, you're saying Kansas City. The two are completely intertwined.
"As MacArthur said of Old Soldiers that they just fade away, so it will be with Walt. Isn't it interesting that as Walt begins to leave us that KC is in such terrible shape? ----Gary Foster, Mission Ks
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