So last night 60 minutes did a special retrospective of the life and career of the late, great Mr. Walter Cronkite, and it COMPLETELY blew me away. So many times you hear adjectives like "great" and "legendary" thrown around and given to individuals who are good for a moment, rather than for long stretches of time. Our generation is especially quick to say someone or something is the greatest ever, until the next month when something seemingly greater happens, and then that praise gets wrongly heaped one someone all over again. In Cronkite's case, to say he was great and legendary is almost disrespectful to the man's true impact to more than one generation.

It just amazed me that virtually ever major event in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s had Cronkite's stamp on it in some way, shape or form. It amazed me that he loved his wife so much, that he would tear up when he talked about her, and this was BEFORE she died. And like NBC's Brian Williams said, Cronkite ALWAYS found that balance between work and play, which in my mind contributed to him living to be 92 years old (although i'm sure drinking the occasional glass of scotch doesn't hurt).

These days, as talented as some of the journalists are, there are just too many channels to go to for news. Some days its a CNN kind of day, other days MSNBC does the trick, or maybe you're a Fox News type of person. Or you may even be that person who shuns the television for news completely, and you rely on twitter, facebook or some other internet site to keep you abreast. This doesn't mean that Cronkite's day was better than the current way, it just means things were much different. And my parents generation, and some in my generation as well, got a chance to see Cronkite's greatness over and over again, and frankly I'm jealous.

It blew my mind as 90 year old Andy Rooney, 91 year old Mike Wallace and a spry 78 year old Morley Safer all spoke with such admiration and love about their fallen, former colleague. That's the kind of love I want both while I'm living and when I'm gone but to be quite honest, I haven't done anything to warrant that type of respect..not yet anyway. Its something to shoot for though..

The other reaction I had to watching Cronkite's life, is that I have to get off the damn computer more. Between work and my home life, I spend way too much time screwing around on my beloved laptop. With basketball a few months away, and with football still two months away, this would be the perfect time to experience real life and all its glory...that sounds corny, but you get catch my drift

Toto - I'll Be Over You