Now I've Heard Everything

Back in the fall of 1993, when I had scheduled an interview with actor. William shatner, it was fascinating to watch the generational divide in the office where I worked.

When he walked in, the oldest among us could be heard saying Captain Kirk is here!

The next oldest we're saying TJ hooker is here!

And the youngest, at that point in the early '90s, we're saying the guy from rescue 911 is here!

William Shatner has undoubtedly been one of the most durable actors of our time, appealing across generations and across genres.

It was on a cold Christmas Eve night many years ago in New York that  a stray cat found a new, loving home.

His rescuer was I then crusty 60 year old curmudgeon, an author and TV and radio critic named Cleveland Amory. 

Well, Amory named his new furry white companion PPolar Bear.  And in 1987, when Amory wrote a book called The Cat Who Came For Christmas, Polar Bear became a celebrity.

This was my first interview with Cleveland Amory, but it was not the last. We talked several times over the next few years.

What would you do if a big corporation took over the company you built, then told you you had no more right to use your own name to sell the product you invented? 

Welcome to Wally Amos’s world.

The founder of Famous Amos Cookies eventually lost the company.  And then he lost the right to use his own name to sell cookies. 

But the Florida native with the irrepressible sense of humor and enthusiasm turn the situation around. Eventually. 

He wrote about it in a 1994 book that he called Man With No Name. 

Do you believe in angels?

Does each of us have a guardian angel? What do angels really look like? Can they perform miracles? 

Some thirty years ago a Washington DC-based author and psychic medium named Sophy Burnham wrote a book that became a major bestseller. 

It was called A Book of Angels. 

And that's when Sophie and I had the first of our several conversations over the next few years. 

And if you don't believe in angels now, perhaps you will a few minutes from now.

Have you counted your blessings today?

If you haven't, maybe you should. It might be good for your health.

So says TV journalist. Deborah Norville.  

In 2007, the anchor of inside edition wrote a book about gratitude, thankfulness, and how that can actually change. Not just your attitude, but you're very health.

I have the chance to speak with her for a few minutes about that book.

The national football League is over 100 years old, and in that time, football fans have enjoyed some breathtaking games, spectacular plays, some of the most colorful athletes we've ever known, and more than a few  moments of spectator sport agony.

In 1994,  The NFL participated in publishing a huge coffee table book reflecting on the first 75 years of the league. And to write the forward to that book, they chose legendary Chicago bears, middle linebacker Dick Butkus.

Now I grew up in the Chicago area, so I knew the name Dick butkus very well -- and his reputation.  An opponent once said that when he was tackling you, Dick Butkus was aiming not to put you in the hospital but the cemetery.

But when I met him to talk about that book, I found him to be a very warm and personable guy with lots of fun stories.

Ms. Is turning 50

It was in December 1971 that a staff writer for the New Yorker named Gloria Steinem  created what would become, the following summer, Ms. Magazine.

The December debut was actually an insert in the New Yorker,  and it instantly catapulted stynom to the forefront of the feminist movement.

Fast forward to 1992. Gloria Steinem wrote a book called The Revolution Within,  and that's when she and I sat down for one of our several conversations over the years.

So here now, from 1992, gloria Steinem.

I don't know about you but every Christmas season one of the movies I have to watch is it's a Wonderful Life.

The story of George Bailey, the small town building and loan manager who's given the chance to see what the world would be like without him is a Christmas classic.

Almost 30 years ago now two guys came out with a book of trivia about the movie. One of them was Jimmy Hawkins, who played Tommy in the movie. The other was actor. Paul Petersen.

Now you may wonder what Paul Petersen has to do with. It's a Wonderful LLfe. Well. Paul Petersen was one of the stars of the '60s sitcom The Donna Reed show -- and of course Donna Reed was Jimmy Stewart's co-star in. It's a Wonderful Life.

For a generation, a handcrafted Longaberger basket is something of a home decor showpiece.

Dave Longaberger founded the company in 1973, and by 1975 had hired his daughter Tammy to work there. When Dave died in 1999, Tami took over as president and CEO. 

In 2001, a book that Dave Longaberger had written was finally published, and Tammy went on tour to promote it. That's when I met her.

At the time, the Longaberger company was at its peak, with thousands of employees making all kinds of home decor products,

They even built a company headquarters building in Ohio that looks like a giant Longaberger Basket. 

On a quiet Sunday in early December, millions of Americans went about their usual routines.

Folks went to church. Children played out in the yard. Teenagers went to moves. Families went to dinner. People listen to football games on the radio.

And then everything changed.

On the radio came the horrible news that the U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii had been attacked by forces from Japan

And just like that, America was plunged into World War II.

Back in 1991 as the nation was preparing to mark the 50th anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack,  I took the opportunity to ask anyone I interviewed that year who was old enough to remember, where they were and what they were doing on that day.