Hello, my friends and welcome to the Live Inspired podcast Monday morning moments with John O'Leary.

Long before Steve Jobs put a device in our hands that let us mindlessly tap away, given

the illusion of purpose, while we wait, maybe even a tool to avoid any interaction whatsoever

with strangers.

I found myself seated alone at a lunch counter awkwardly waiting for my burger, for some fries, and for a root beer.

While watching the cook throw the burgers on the grill, I heard behind me the unmistakable and unparalleled voice of Jack Buck Beltout.

I didn't know you had such a refined palate.

Jack Buck was a Hall of Fame broadcaster.

He was the voice of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he was the biggest celebrity in our city.

Additionally, he was a significant reason why I survived a fire as a child, had been incredibly generous to me in the years since that fire, and undoubtedly had altered the entire course of my life.

That's the impact this man had on me.

He walked over, he patted me on the back, asked if the stool next to me was taken, and then he sat down.

And so began the unexpected lunch with my hero, Jack Buck.

We talked about the poem he had recited weeks earlier at Bush Stadium after the attacks of

September 11th.

We talked about his Parkinson's disease progression, and he joked that he had given

the Cardinals the best years of his life, so he not planned on giving them the worst years of his life to.

Mostly, though, he kept turning the conversation back to me, asked about my life post-college,

asked about where I was living, asked about how my post-college, asked about where I was living,

asked about how my parents were doing, and he asked a lot about a girl named Beth that I had recently started dating. We were interrupted several times as fellow diners, would thank Jack

Buck for his impact in the community and how integral his voice was to their lives.

Retrospectively, it was a masterclass in what happens when a person invest a lifetime,

...