On Tuesday, Jesse Merkel — father of Annunciation shooting victim Fletcher Merkel — called Falen & Colt’s KDWB radio show with a very moving request.
He surprised co-hosts Falen Bonsett and Colt Parkey by telling them that one of Fletcher’s favorite memories was being on the air with them, and then asked them to replay the segment along with Fletcher’s favorite song, “Ordinary” by Alex Warren.
Colt queued up the July 3 audio clip, when Jesse’s wife, Mollie, called in to the show with a car full of kids, Fletcher among them, for a firework impression competition.
Falen said she was honored by Jesse’s call to honor Fletcher’s memory with the 8-year-old’s goofy moment of fame, mimicking the pyrotechnics’ wooshes, booms and crackles.
On Wednesday, Falen talked about the emotional call with her “The Jason Show” co-host Jason Matheson. She shared how Jesse told her that Fletcher had been thrilled by the broadcast and that their family had listened to the recording over and over again. Falen said she’d been very moved by how important that small, silly moment had been to the Merkels and teared up relaying the story to Jason.
Reflecting on it all on Thursday, Falen added: “It just goes to show how the small interactions we have, that maybe we don’t even think twice about, can have a totally different impact on someone else.”
