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"That's the way it is,"
said "the most trusted man in America"
as he closed his nightly newscasts.
He ushered in the world of television news,
bravely, and only after first turning down
the CBS offer, for print and radio reigned
and televison was considered a format
for actors and comedians.
Taking off his glasses to look at the clock,
as the broadcast interrupted the soap opera,
"As the World Turns," he confirmed the
news that JFK was gone, blinking back tears.
By a twist of fate, deer hunters packing gear
in the living room, TV randomly on, the set
still on minutes later, after their departure
as I stood immobile in the kitchen, watching.
(In 1963, this young family had only one TV,
as did everyone else in the new subdivision,)
Decades later, with TV sets all over the house,
Walter Cronkite shared his long held resentment
of his casual dismissal in 1981 from his anchor
position with congenial host Larry King. He had
turned 65 and that was that. And I blinked tears
from my eyes as the iconic man shared his
dismay and disappointment of two decades later.
Those of us with many years on earth have seen
the world through his eyes, heard his dismal
predictions upon returning from Vietnam,
but only the knowledge that there was an early
50's show, "You AreThere" that featured "live" interviews
with no longer living figures from history. Those of us
who lived the Cronkite years of television news
know his importance, respect this legacy. Those he
touched became the leaders of another era of
reporting, as now even that generation
passes the torch to new networks, where bias is
the usual rather than the Cronkite standard.
The passing, all the more poignant,
with the death of newspapers,
loss of that great natural resource,
investigative reporters. May the
internet rise to the need.
The moving Memorial Service today, President Obama's
impending speech tonight brought the past and the
present to harmony in my mind. A temporary reprieve.
And "That's the way it is" to me...
Adding your comment:
How did you guess about that, eh? Yeah, I brought work, needed this Monday for the meeting on Tuesday. 
