I did a little research into what it means to be named a Kentucky Colonel (as I was a few nights ago here in Owensboro). It's the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and is given by the Governor and Secretary of State to "those who make exceptional efforts to enrich
the lives of Kentuckians and the world at large."
I'm joining a distinguished (and eclectic) list that includes Pope John Paul II, Bob Barker, Bill Clinton, Billy Ray Cyrus, Bing Crosby, Barry Manilow, Ronald Reagan, Peter Graves, Norman Schwarzkopf, Winston Churchill, Wynonna Judd, Tiger Woods, and, of course, Harlan Sanders. To say I am flattered…and stunned…is an understatement.
Yesterday, Colonel Goldberg went to Nashville and did all the tourist stuff. And ate at Jack's BBQ…twice. It was the best BBQ of the trip so far. Today Gene Hackman and CSI creator/showrunner Anthony Zuiker join the Festival here in Owensboro. The Colonel is looking forward to meeting them both.
Congrats. I can’t stop smiling.
http://kycolonels.org/index.cgi?id=54
Since I note that both Tom and Dick Smothers also are Kentucky Colonels as well, I’m thinking that maybe I need to make a trip down to Owensboro, that way we can rule the rural world together!
jacks is the best. i hope you managed to stop by hatch show print while you were in nashville. it’s one of the last few old fashioned print houses in the world. they have lots of great old concert pictures.
to Col. Goldberg: NPR’s Bob Edwards got the commission some years back, and from that day onward, Red Barber always addressed him as Colonel. Wear your honorific with pride and dignity -and if you run into the Books-a-Million lady again… let good civic judgment guide your actions – or just lord it over her, whichever works best.
It’s also an ABA team that didn’t cross into the NBA when the league folded, really.
I received the Ky Colonel honor on my last trip home, and now I make all my employees call me Colonel. Unfortunately they ruin the experience for me by laughing every time they say it.