His first audience... a grand total of one

(Published May 25, 1993.)

David Crowe met Rush Limbaugh when they were 3. Their activities included games and a lot of radio.

"Rusty would hook up the CB radios and his 45 turntable and play songs over the CB. He loved to pretend he was a disc jockey. He would rattle off some commentary and play me a song. Then he would ask, 'How did that sound?' I guess you could say that I was his first radio coach and his first broadcast audience.

"By the time we were in fifth grade, he could do a perfect Harry Caray."

Childhood pranks competed somewhat with Rush's love of radio. "In fifth grade, our teacher put us at opposite ends of the room in order to deter us from disrupting the class." They were kept apart in junior high often.

"One afternoon during lunch, Rusty went into the Spanish Lab and rewired our booths. During the class everyone was supposed to do an oral exercise but, instead, Rusty and I were able to communicate with each other." The instructor was not amused.

"Rusty was always doing something. In seventh grade I got sent to the principal's office because I could not stop laughing. I don't have any idea what was so funny. I laughed so hard that tears were running down my face. What made it even funnier was that he sat there just as calm like he had nothing to do with it."

Young Rusty impressed his buddies with his business acumen. "Rusty is the first guy I knew who had a job besides paperboy. He shined shoes at a barber shop. We looked up to him because he had a real job. Rusty was good because he was focused and it required him to engage in adult conversation.

"When we were in high school some friends and I decided to make a movie. The film was entitled, 'You're a Mean Man, Cyanide Barrenheart.' It was a comedy melodrama patterned after the old silent movies of the '20s. The villain, Cyanide, was developed with Rusty in mind. In fact, we built the characters around Rusty and Danny Braswell, the 'bad buy' and the 'good guy.' They 'made' the production. We recorded it on 8mm film and played it as a silent movie for a fund raiser. Rusty's cousin, Steve, now a Missouri Supreme Court justice, played the piano accompaniment. (If you've ever heard him play, you'd know that it alone was an incredible part of the production.) We sold out for three nights in a row. Rusty and Danny could overact with abandon and the audience loved it. The two of them took turns stealing scenes from each other.

"Rush has been through some changes and paid his dues. He has always made his shows entertaining and thought-provoking. In the '70s, he was a little rougher on his audience. We both lived in Kansas City at the time and he had a morning talk and music program. He tended to 'bait' his callers from time to time to get a reaction and, though it could have a hard edge, I found it very amusing. It was outrageous at times, but always funny."

Crowe says Rush never had trouble keeping an audience but sometimes he didn't notice who was concentrating.

"He was so focused on his radio career that he rarely dated. He was so intense that he didn't recognize the girls were hanging on his every word."

At a high school reunion, Crowe served as master of ceremonies. Pointing to Rush, he announced -- "Rusty Limbaugh. What has he accomplished? We expected so much more but he's still just talking on the radio.' Of course I said it in jest to a lifelong friend but he has a strong following -- I received anonymous hate mail in Rusty's defense."

Crowe claims that take away the microphone and "Rush is a modest, self-effacing, humble guy. Behind the scenes, he still holds strong opinions but there is much more to him than his radio personality. I think he is a very engaging, charming guy. He is genuinely interested in other people."

As for Rush's popularity, Crowe knows the reason. "Rusty made a niche where nobody has ever been before. He is the first person of this particular political ideology with a sense of humor and his humor, his sense of irony, is phenomenal. He has made commentary acceptable that would have been politically incorrect 15 or 20 years ago.

"He makes people laugh and he makes people stop and think. Whether you agree with him or not, he'll make you think about things in ways you never have before.

"It's an extraordinary gift."

Like Rush Limbaugh, James Kinder comes from a conservative Republican background.

"My convictions have changed somewhat. I grew up in Cape Girardeau among several Republican influences. I now reside in Cairo, Illinois, where the political views are quite different. I assure people that it is not necessary to hold all his political values in order to listen to rush," said Kinder.

"I do guarantee he will make you think."

Before listening to Rush pontificate on radio, Kinder joined him in some escapades. "I remember throwing water balloons at cars. One afternoon we were standing on the curb with water balloons cupped in our hands hidden from anyone passing by. Zoom, went a white early '60s model Pontiac. Splat! Both water balloons plastered the side of the car. The car screeched to halt and spun around to catch the pranksters. Like lightening, we were hiding in the bushes. Fortunately we never got caught."

"Rusty was often mischievous. Most of his pranks were merely for amusement. In his spare time he would produce hilarious skits. I say produce because the skits were taped so that we could listen to them for entertainment. Rusty had a great ear for voices and a gift for impersonations.

"There was a businessman in Cape at the time who had a distinct voice. It was rather high pitched and a little squeaky. Rusty's farcical skits evolved around that man. The tapes were marvelous," laughed Kinder.

"Rusty graduated from the school of hard knocks. Now look where he is. He is very successful and financially secure. He has made a positive impact on the lives of some listeners.

"A lady from Michigan credits Rush for turning her son's life around. The boy was doing poorly in school and now, thanks to Rush, her son reads five newspapers a day. He is articulate and is going to college," Kinder noted.