For those of us of a, ah, 'certain age', there was one constant in our daily lives.

Walter Cronkite would tell us 'the way it was' every night on the CBS Evening News. Oh, there were other newscasts (notably Huntley and Brinkley) but really, for the nation, there was Walter.

He began coming into our living rooms on April 16th, 1962. We didn't know it then of course, that this guy would tell us what's going on in the world for the next nearly 20 years.

Every major event of the era is associated with Cronkite. Most notably of course is the assassination of President Kennedy. It was Walter who removed his glasses, clutched for just a moment, and then delivered the awful news that no one wanted to hear.

The other event forever linked to our nightly friend was the Moon Landing. On July 20 1969 when man landed on the Moon Walter simply said, 'Whew...boy.' Somehow that was enough.

There was Viet Nam, Watergate and all the rest, brought to our living rooms night after night by the most trusted man in America.

And it all began 51 years ago, April 16th 1962. It's impossible to think of the last half-century without Walter.

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