Since there was some inside stuff contained in the farewell letter from Michael to me it occurred to me that some of you might want to know what he was referring to.
Paragraph 1: The "new development" had to do with treatments he was getting to try to beat back the cancer. As the final attempts at stopping its' growth didn't have the desired effect, he seems to come to grips with the inevitable. He did retain a sense of perspective and realized how fortunate he was to have lived the life he did.
Paragraph 2: Michael held down the afternoon drive shift for 29+ years and before that I worked with him on a show called "In The Heartland" which ran weekdays from 6pm - 7pm for just about 2 years. For the last 25 years I've been Program Director of WNCX, that's what he meant "under you". By "numbers" he was talking about ratings, and he was being characteristically kind. Thanks to the music and our great listeners we ALL have done very well in that regard.
Paragraph 3: Michael was always reading, and often the Civil War would be the topic of preshow conversations between us. I'm a big Civil War buff and 2011 - 2015 was the 150th anniversary of the conflict. The battles, generals and stories seemed to have renewed life. Along with the two letters, Michael gave me a copy of the New York Herald's April 15th 1865 edition (below) which covered the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. I will treasure it forever.
Paragraph 4: The letter he mentions is the one we posted here on the day after he passed away. We talked about recording one final interview that would've aired on that same day. We even had a name for it, "Michael Stanley: The Exit Interview". He liked the name, proving he kept his twisted sense of humor right up until the end. Sadly, his condition worsened quickly and I never got the opportunity to get it done. Maybe for the better.
The last paragraph was his final "goodbye", and we've continued to rock as instructed. Nothing lasts forever, and life seems to teach that us lesson far too often. But remembering the good things in life can somewhat compensate for the tough times that will happen. He seemed to understand that fully. I can only hope that if I am ever in the position that Michael was in that I too handle things with the style and class that he displayed.
