Scott Simon, mi amour

Scott Simon is the Peabody award-winning host of NPR's Weekend Edition show. Scott has earned acolades and awards for his reporting on the September 11th terrorist attacks and the war in Afghanistan. Until Saturday my most memorable Scott Simon moment occurred when he bumped into Alex Rodriguez's father in a Miami nursing home during an interview a few years ago. This happened while A-Rod was chasing a World Series title. Simon, a lifelong baseball fan, chuckled in unrestrained delight at this occurance.

On Saturday morning Simon shared a story about the dangers of being a journalist in Russia. He said he felt humbled at the news of the execution of a 25-year old female journalist shot in the back of her head as she stood on a street corner in Moscow. He read one of the journalist's poems. As his voice quieted I could eerily feel his pain.

Next, Simon interviewed Richard Glover from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Simon commented that 200 Australians have died from the wildfires, but that many animals have perished as well. Glover stated that over 100 million native Australian animals have perished in the wildfires (the shocking figure does not include farm or domesticated animals). Glover then recounted his visit to a busy animal rescue where citizens brought injured wild animals. Glover described the badly burnt baby koalas he saw in basket after basket, blue tape upon their damaged paws, clutching at stuffed toy koalas for comfort. Scott Simon, choked with tears, warmly thanked Glover for his story.

I love Scott Simon for his stories, his honesty and most of all his humanity. Listen to his Weekend Edition story here.