George Plaster breaks down on air bidding Kevin Stallings farewell
Mike Organ, morgan@tennessean.com 4:35 p.m. CDT April 2, 2016
Kevin Stallings this past week.
It wasn't that Plaster, a Vanderbilt graduate, was all that torn up about Stallings leaving for Pitt after 17 years with the Commodores. It was more poignant than that.
Plaster and Stallings had connected on an emotional level a few years back when Plaster's mom was dealing with an illness that eventually led to her death, and saying goodbye conjured up those agonizing feelings.
"It was a tough deal because Kevin had helped me through a difficult time, and when we started saying our farewells on the air, it brought back some pretty painful memories," said Plaster, who could not hold back his tears during 102.5-FM's "Sports Night."
"I felt like a fool when it was over. But I tried to at least acknowledge that I'm a wimp. I've just come to the understanding that God made some people very stoic, and God made some other people emotional. Unfortunately, I fit into the latter."
Listeners benefited by hearing about a side of Stallings they might have missed during his time in Nashville.
"Kevin is not perfect, but he's not the monster a lot of people in Nashville think he is," Plaster said.
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THE TENNESSEAN
Kevin Stallings: Leaving Vanderbilt chance to 'start over'
Plaster's mother, Sophie, was recovering from a small stroke when he got word while doing his show at a David Price charity event one afternoon that she had relapsed and suffered a massive stroke. Plaster jumped in his car and headed to the hospital.
"I was breaking every speed law known to man when Kevin just happened to call," Plaster said. "It was just kind of a 'Hey, what's going on?' call. I told him what had happened to Mom and he said, 'You're not ready for this.' He had had a family member who had passed away of a stroke and said, "You just need to be prepared that there's a real chance that this is it.'"
That was the first time Plaster realized how potentially dire the situation could be.
"When I got there they didn't let me see my mom for about four hours, so I knew Kevin was right," Plaster said.
Kevin Stallings (Photo: File)
Sophie Plaster died four days later.
Not long after that, Plaster's father, Tom, started experiencing symptoms from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Plaster tried to get his dad out of the funk by taking him to see some of his old friends at his favorite restaurant, then to the Kiwanis Club and then to where the "Sports Night" crew was doing the show that afternoon.
It didn't help. Tom seemed disoriented, and that bothered Plaster.
Plaster shared his concerns with Stallings, who again pulled no punches when trying to console him.
"Kevin asked me to repeat everything I had Dad do that day," Plaster said. "Then, as only Kevin could do it, said, 'So you had him from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. going around, around and around, and how old is he?' I said he'll be 90 in a couple of months, and Kevin was like, 'What in the hell are you thinking?' He said, 'George, you've got to get real about this. You're trying to turn the clock back on him like he's in his 50s and he's not.' In that respect, Kevin was a really good friend to me. I wish more people would have gotten to know him like I did."
Later in the week, the tables were turned when Stallings choked up while being interviewed by Greg Pogue and Joe Dubin on WNSR.
"When he was talking about leaving Nashville, he had to stop and collect himself," Pogue said. "You hate to have dead air, but he wasn't saying anything and we weren't saying anything. We knew he needed a moment."
Mike Organ, morgan@tennessean.com 4:35 p.m. CDT April 2, 2016Kevin Stallings this past week.
It wasn't that Plaster, a Vanderbilt graduate, was all that torn up about Stallings leaving for Pitt after 17 years with the Commodores. It was more poignant than that.
Plaster and Stallings had connected on an emotional level a few years back when Plaster's mom was dealing with an illness that eventually led to her death, and saying goodbye conjured up those agonizing feelings.
"It was a tough deal because Kevin had helped me through a difficult time, and when we started saying our farewells on the air, it brought back some pretty painful memories," said Plaster, who could not hold back his tears during 102.5-FM's "Sports Night."
"I felt like a fool when it was over. But I tried to at least acknowledge that I'm a wimp. I've just come to the understanding that God made some people very stoic, and God made some other people emotional. Unfortunately, I fit into the latter."
Listeners benefited by hearing about a side of Stallings they might have missed during his time in Nashville.
"Kevin is not perfect, but he's not the monster a lot of people in Nashville think he is," Plaster said.
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THE TENNESSEAN
Kevin Stallings: Leaving Vanderbilt chance to 'start over'
Plaster's mother, Sophie, was recovering from a small stroke when he got word while doing his show at a David Price charity event one afternoon that she had relapsed and suffered a massive stroke. Plaster jumped in his car and headed to the hospital.
"I was breaking every speed law known to man when Kevin just happened to call," Plaster said. "It was just kind of a 'Hey, what's going on?' call. I told him what had happened to Mom and he said, 'You're not ready for this.' He had had a family member who had passed away of a stroke and said, "You just need to be prepared that there's a real chance that this is it.'"
That was the first time Plaster realized how potentially dire the situation could be.
"When I got there they didn't let me see my mom for about four hours, so I knew Kevin was right," Plaster said.
Kevin Stallings (Photo: File)
Sophie Plaster died four days later.
Not long after that, Plaster's father, Tom, started experiencing symptoms from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.
Plaster tried to get his dad out of the funk by taking him to see some of his old friends at his favorite restaurant, then to the Kiwanis Club and then to where the "Sports Night" crew was doing the show that afternoon.
It didn't help. Tom seemed disoriented, and that bothered Plaster.
Plaster shared his concerns with Stallings, who again pulled no punches when trying to console him.
"Kevin asked me to repeat everything I had Dad do that day," Plaster said. "Then, as only Kevin could do it, said, 'So you had him from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. going around, around and around, and how old is he?' I said he'll be 90 in a couple of months, and Kevin was like, 'What in the hell are you thinking?' He said, 'George, you've got to get real about this. You're trying to turn the clock back on him like he's in his 50s and he's not.' In that respect, Kevin was a really good friend to me. I wish more people would have gotten to know him like I did."
Later in the week, the tables were turned when Stallings choked up while being interviewed by Greg Pogue and Joe Dubin on WNSR.
"When he was talking about leaving Nashville, he had to stop and collect himself," Pogue said. "You hate to have dead air, but he wasn't saying anything and we weren't saying anything. We knew he needed a moment."
