OK Solberg: 00:00

I want again. Welcome into the 04:05 coffee break. Tuesday, guys. Get you a cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.

OK Solberg: 00:07

Spring wheat, $5.29 going down. Harvest must be here. A 550lb steer calf, they're not moving. A solid mouth cow with a calf at her side will bring you from $3,800 to $4,100 depending on the quality.

OK Solberg: 00:25

A butcher hog in Iowa, 56¢ a pound. And a 100lb fat lamb in Billings, $2.04 a pound. But guys, there's more, much more. This week, hey, this week, a surprise. I'll start it off with a Paul Harvey rest of the story.

OK Solberg: 00:45

And that, right after our Bible verse for the day, from Exodus 20-15. Oh, it's one we all know by heart. It's only four words long. Thou shalt not steal. Stealing can end you up in the big house, the slammer, the Hoosegow.

OK Solberg: 01:09

Now the rest of the story. M.R. was a 21 year old young inmate at San Quentin, pausing restlessly in his cot after lights out. He'd set foot on the road to prison years before. It had started with petty theft and bad checks and then stolen cars. Finally got himself drunk and tried to knock over a roadhouse near Bakersfield, and that's what brought him a stretch in the joint.

OK Solberg: 01:46

By now, there had been several months, long enough to see it all. He'd seen a con killed over a simple insult. He had another inmate purposely scalded to death in the prison laundry. And the more such he saw, the more he wondered whether he'd see the other side of those gray walls again. So M.R. was lying awake that night tossing and turning, trying to fight off every thought but the plan at hand.

OK Solberg: 02:24

Because in the 13 years there had not been an escape from San Quentin, come sun up, M.R. would have his chance at just that. See, in the prison furniture factory, inmate craftsman had been making a desk for a judge's chamber in San Francisco. An enormous desk, weighed about 1,500 pounds. And the next morning it was due to be picked up and trucked out. But what prison authorities did not know was there was room in that huge desk for two full grown men to hide.

OK Solberg: 03:07

One of the cons already booked for passage was Jim Kendrick, known to his buddies as Rabbit, and the other, that's right, the other was M.R. Rabbit liked M.R., did his best to talk the youngster out of escaping. The elder serving two five to life sentences back to back felt, well, he had nothing to lose. But M.R., well, he'd be out in a couple of years. The risk wasn't worth it.

OK Solberg: 03:42

But M.R's mind was made up. He'd been over and over the plan in his mind. He was sure there was no way it could fail, and it did not. The judge's desk was picked up on time. The prison gate opened wide for the truck.

OK Solberg: 04:03

The getaway car was waiting near Oakland Bay Bridge. So Rabbit became the first con in thirteen years to break out of San Quentin. And M.R.? He stayed behind. Funny thing, he was all set to go, he was looking forward to his freedom, but at the last minute he got cold feet and turned it down.

OK Solberg: 04:31

Weeks later a highway patrol stopped Rabbit for a minor traffic violation. Rabbit panicked, shot the officer dead, and not long after that, they caught Rabbit and sent him to the gas chamber. Now had M.R. escaped with Rabbit, he'd probably have been there with his buddy when he pulled the trigger, and that would have made him an accessory. But instead, when Rabbit ran, M.R. stayed and served his time to a parole two years later. He went straight.

OK Solberg: 05:10

It would have been so easy to sneak out in the judge's desk. But when M.R. came to the crossroad, he chose the right road. He lived to build a career that has thrilled country music lovers ever since. For more than forty years, you've been humming the tunes of M. R.

OK Solberg: 05:33

Merle, Ronald Haggard. That's right, Merle Haggard. And now you know the rest of the story. End of quote word for word from Paul Harvey, the legend himself. So all the rest of this week, I will be focusing on Merle Haggard, a San Quentin prisoner who went straight, and I want you to listen to one of his number one hits titled Lonesome Fugitive.

OK Solberg: 06:04

Also, check out James Rabbit Kendrick who walked his last mile at 10AM on 11/03/1961. Check it out and see if I'm selling you a bum steer. Tune in again tomorrow and more about Merle Haggard, for the man had 38 number one hits. 38? Remember CCR?

OK Solberg: 06:32

Creedence Clearwater Revival? Never had one number one hit. But Merle, he had 38. So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.