For most who watch Kentucky Educational Television regularly, at least since 1996, the abiding presence and top-flight program host/newsman Bill Goodman is an undeniable fixture.
Tall and commanding in appearance, respectful but direct in his delivery, it is easy to conclude that he is competent, well-seasoned and always well-prepared for his tasks. As an interviewee or participant on his shows, he expects you to be that way also. Accordingly, you want to be that way in order to show him your respect.
Formerly a newsman in Texas and Tennessee, he is now a Kentucky Journalism Hall of Famer, recognized for the honor in 2013. He is considered by most to be fair like few others in the business. Bill Goodman, in truth, has sterling news media credibility in the commonwealth.
But if you’ve ever been curious about Bill’s personal background, or what he’s interested in off the air, I recommend that you grab a copy of Beans, Biscuits, Family & Friends: Life Stories. Always a skilled writer in his journalistic work, this is his launch into authorship, featuring, for starts, a nostalgic look at his childhood in the Western Kentucky town of Glasgow, in Barren County.
Most compelling of that time, perhaps, is the informal apprenticeship and bonding with his father, Henry Goodman, while working together on sales routes with the family business, the Goodman Candy Co. In that realm, Bill learned sales skills, a strong work ethic, and an appreciation for the ways of common folks living in his area of Kentucky.
Away from the business operation, we find that he reveled in his mother’s delicious home cooking. There are the food staples of old-fashioned pinto beans and cornbread, and plenty other foods, such as “a mess of greens, like kale or boiled cabbage for dinner…(and) a little seasoning, celery, and fresh ground beef for her signature meat loaf, which she topped off with a dab of tomato sauce.” Bill’s family, which included a big sister and little sister, were active members of the Glasgow Baptist Church.
According to him, “Even today, an almost Pavlovian response is triggered in me when Sundays, lunchtime, and church are all mentioned in the same breath. It conjures up thoughts of family, food, and beaten biscuits.”
Along with sharing those revealing remembrances of his youth, he presents an informative and entertaining set of adulthood stories where he ascends mountains, seeks the “killer” tomato, and researches the Trigg family (on his mother’s side) and discovers her clan’s deep connection to the sport of foxhunting. He adds variety to the engaging life stories by sharing a stirring memoir of internationally recognized abstract artist cousin Joe Dudley Downing (brother of Dero Downing, former Western Kentucky University president).
Bill’s description of ascending Washington state’s Mt. Rainier in 1994—an extremely difficult 14,000 feet—is riveting. He shares the intoxicating fervor present within he and his colleagues’ decision to climb the beautiful mountain: “As flatlanders from Kentucky, void of any mountain-climbing experience whatsoever, but emboldened by the spirit and camaraderie that overtakes wise judgment and replaces it with the insanity of the moment, our minds told us that this adventure was in the bag.”
Of course, it wasn’t, and to make it so would require almost superhuman dedication and proper preparation. To come would be temps requiring double-layered clothing, then warming temps that resulted in t-shirts and shorts. It involved eating freeze-dried food and Clif bars, and it meant near exhaustion and intense muscular and joint aches, and it called for uncommon focus. It meant, sometimes, scolding by a guide for letting up in effort—causing danger to the other members of the party. That firmness, in the aftermath of the expedition, was considered a blessing, and possibly a lifesaver. Ooh, yes…the endeavor was a success.
The Mt. Ranier climb, and several others in other parts of the United States, add to the dynamic resume of one Bill Goodman, and fits into his mind-set that life isn’t meant to be lived with passivity. For sure, his success at KET could only be possible with a measured degree of aggressiveness.
After reading Beans, Biscuits, Family & Friends, a book conceived as he worked for a master’s at Louisville’s Spaulding University, I came away with a fresh and informed view of a man who has worked hard to be an unbiased light holder for the Commonwealth. But under that principled objectivity, there burns a deep desire that the people he portrays will get it right. He’s worked on that part all his life. For Bill Goodman, words wisely spoken, and the language he chooses to speak, are important things indeed. For us, it is a wonderful blessing that he most eloquently speaks Kentucky.
Fledgling writers who are interested in getting their work published might want to check out the Facebook page Snapdragon Magazine, a literary journal published by Jeanine Lister and Bill McCann. According to the page, Snapdragon, published by J-W Books in Cynthiana, is a “journal seeking to publish Kentucky poets, essayists, playwrights, and fiction and nonfiction writers.”
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. His new book, “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” has recently been released and is available for purchase here. Flairty is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, as well as a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Read his past columns for excerpts from all his books. him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or friend him on Facebook. (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
To read more of Steve Flairty’s Kentucky by Heart columns, click here.