Pat Bean's blog

The Joy of Soft News

          “The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines,” wrote Charles Kuralt, a role model for both my journalism career, and the nine years I traveled the back roads of America in a small RV with a canine companion.

           Kuralt began his On the Road television series in 1967, the same year I began my 37-year journalism career. The first time I saw one of the segments, I knew he was the kind of journalist I wanted to be, one who reported on good people who lived their lives quietly, each unique in her or his own way.

          I, partially if not completely, met that goal. While I did cover the nitty-gritty political stuff, and horrendous child abuse and murder trials, and even the tragical September 11,2001 terrorist attack, I also wrote many upbeat stories about interesting, good people involving uplifting achievements and events. I considered every one of those stories my job’s silver lining.

          In 2006, after I was retired, I visited the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, where my favorite exhibit was one of the six On-the-Road RVs that Kuralt used during his 20 years to find and report America at its best. I blogged about it at the time, and later wrote about the experience in Travels with Maggie.

          Kuralt’s influence on me came back to my mind yesterday when I was reading one of my journals and came across the notes about my museum visit. Curious to know how long Charles had driven the back roads of America — it was 20 –led me to the internet, and the discovery of our 1967 connection. It also led me to discover that segments of On the Road can still be seen today.

          So, if you want an escape from today’s hard news, check it out at 20 Years On The Road with Charles Kuralt – Bing video Or you can just type in a search for Charles Kuralt videos and a bunch of links will pop up.

          Have fun.

Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.