THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 1994 TAG: 9410050502
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: AHOSKIE LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Charles Kuralt, a step below mom and the flag and a step above apple pie, initiated the Roanoke-Chowan Community College's annual ``Speakers Under the Stars Forum'' Monday.
His optimism and ``Ain't America grand?'' attitude, trademarks of his several decades on television, remain intact.
Kuralt told the 750 people, seated on folding chairs under a white tent, not to expect controversy during his time onstage.
``If you expect to hear great events of the '80s, forget it. I missed all of them.''
The folksy Kuralt did not miss the folks of middle America, his favorite subjects during most of his years ``On the Road,'' the smile portion of CBS News for several decades.
He spent most of that time checking out the small towns of America, logging more than a million miles.
``I had the best job in journalism,'' Kuralt said. ``I was never a reporter who asked embarrassing questions.''
Those who asked controversial questions Monday usually wound up with non-controversial answers. The exception was Vietnam.
``I didn't think it was wrong for the United States to try to stop the outrageous invasion from the north,'' Kuralt said. ``But by 1965, I decided this was going on and on. We lost enough people.
``I can't go to that wall in Washington without crying.''
Kuralt bluntly described the Vietnam War as ``a great and tragic misadventure.''
Politically, he was not adventurous Monday night.
One man, posing his question more like an editorial, asked about the president and his family.
``The last election I covered was Goldwater-Johnson in 1964,'' Kuralt said, tossing in a safety valve by noting that ``no matter who the president is, we're tough on the president. All the presidents in my time have had very rough treatment.''
There is nothing rough about the journalist, host of CBS-TV's ``Sunday Morning'' until six months ago. He refers to himself and some of his compatriots as ``the old geezers of journalism.'' His distinctive voice and disarming smile are audience comforters, as are his views on the populace.
``The country bears little resemblance to what we read in the paper or hear on talk shows,'' he said.
``It's depressing, but journalists must persist in telling us everything that goes wrong.''
What is right? Plenty, Kuralt noted.
``Our national conscience has been touched. We've achieved things. They happened outside of the government, sometimes in spite of the government. Americans have the naive idea that there's a solution to every problem. Let something go wrong and someone will get a committee.
``People always work on those problems as if there's a solution. It's an ideal situation.''
Among others, Kuralt praised ``the handful of people in the '50s concerned with ecology, Ralph Nader's battles for the consumers, and the leaders of the women'smovement.''
The Wilmington native's most passionate words of praise were for ``the very brave men and women'' who fought for racial integration, ``such as those students in our state who integrated that soda fountain in Greensboro.''
``I grew up with racial segregation,'' said Kuralt, who described integration as ``the single greatest, most fundamental achievement. Maybe I'll live to see the day of genuine racial justice in our region. Profoundly, things have changed for the better.''
Most of Kuralt's optimism stems from his days on the road - the back roads.
``I really have hope, that we may be growing in important ways - wisdom, humanity.''
His six books are filled with those ingredients. His seventh is on the way, a tome ``about my favorite American places.'' Kuralt has visited these places since retirement: ``The mountains of North Carolina, Alaska, Minnesota, Maine, Montana.''
Wherever he goes, he goes the Kuralt way.
``I'm still talking to people, but without a microphone or camera. This month, I'm going to Vermont to watch the leaves change.''
Charles Kuralt is a happy camper - in more ways than one. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Kuralt
by CNB