CHARLES KURALT (1934-1997)

Charles Kuralt could do epic news--war in Vietnam, turmoil in China, politics in Latin America--the big stories that are hard to miss. But he was the master of the small story, the kind we tend to miss. "I have resolutely pursued irrelevance out there on the back roads," he said. And so, with his warm baritone and neighborly mien, Kuralt traveled America to discover centenarian entertainers, whittlers, slingshot artists, brickmakers and an astonishing host of the overlooked, transforming them into roadside reminders in the media fast lane of a real world with real people in real time. Irrelevance, indeed.

Kuralt, 62, died in New York City of a heart attack. He had been suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus, an autoimmune disease, after his retirement from CBS News in 1994. There is some resonance in his death's occurring on the Fourth of July, not just the birthday of the country whose discovery he continued but, as it happens, also a milestone in the exploration of another world. His four-decade career is testament to the fact that there are wonders that do not need to take your breath away, and that there are underappreciated worlds to wander into, down a back road, across the street, maybe even next door.