Charles Kuralt

My parents encouraged me in everything I ever wanted to do.

For a while there, I was a stringer. The expression comes from the old habit of stringing together the column inches that you had written. They'd measure it and pay you 10 cents an inch for your printed copy.

Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.

A country so rich that it can send people to the moon still has hundreds of thousands of its citizens who can't read. That's terribly troubling to me.

It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn't in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals.

Look for joy in your life; it's not always easy to find.

I believe that writing is derivative. I think good writing comes from good reading.

I used to think that driving, sleepless, ambitious labor was what you needed to succeed.

There are a lot of people who are doing wonderful things, quietly, with no motive of greed, or hostility toward other people, or delusions of superiority.

Just by luck, I picked good heroes to worship.

I recognize that I had a good deal of good luck in my life. I came along at a time when it was pretty easy to get a job in journalism. I went to work at CBS News when I was about 22, and within a year or so was reporting on the air.

I could tell you which writer's rhythms I am imitating. It's not exactly plagiarism, it's falling in love with good language and trying to imitate it.

It's best to leap into something you know you love. You might change your mind later, but that is the privilege of youth.

You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars.

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.

Good teachers know how to bring out the best in students.