Andy's Best Friend

How many really good friends do you have? If you're lucky, you have two or maybe three.

Walter Cronkite was a really good friend of mine - a best friend. I didn't just know Walter well, I didn't respect him, I didn't revere him - I just liked him a lot.

We were often together and it was easy. We didn't have to think of things to talk about -things to talk about just came to us naturally.

I was with Walter recently and we didn't talk much because neither of us had much to say. You can do that with good friends too.

Walter and I met in London in 1945.

And I suppose we've been together a thousand times from then until now. It's one of those numbers in your life that you can't count.

I've been proud over the years to see Walter become, not just one of the best known people on television but one of the best known people in the whole world of people. He was proud of me too and there's no better feeling in life than that.

I wouldn't trade Walter Cronkite liking me for just about anything I've ever had.