Charles

Steward of serenity

A couple of weeks ago I was struck with profound sadness when I saw news about the death of Charles Osgood, the long-time legendary host of CBS’s Sunday Morning program.¹

Growing up in the late 90s and early 00s, Charles Osgood’s voice was the soundtrack behind the hustle and bustle of eating breakfast and getting ready for church on Sunday mornings in our home.

I remember hearing fascinating stories about things like counterfeit wines or the Gerber baby in between bites of Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I remember listening to an interview with John Grisham about his writing process and being amazed at what it must be like to be an author for a living. Watching CBS Sunday Morning was like going down the most delightful Wikipedia rabbit hole with some of the most kind journalists serving as your guides.²

And there in the middle of all of it was Charles Osgood, conducting an orchestra of fascinating, clever, and often humorous reports and editorials done by his colleagues.

Perhaps it was because of Osgood’s beautiful voice or maybe it was because of the heartfelt, lighthearted nature of so much of the features presented on CBS Sunday Morning—I’m not sure—but when I think of Charles Osgood’s leadership of that program, I’m overcome with a sense of peace and serenity.

That sense of peace and serenity is perhaps best captured in the “Moment in Nature” segments that conclude the program each week. Like this one of songbirds in snow.

Of course the tradition of Moments in Nature lives on beyond Osgood on the show as it continues to run today, but his deep, calming voice interrupting the nature scene to say goodbye and conclude the program was always so special to me.

If you asked me that old question, “If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would you choose?” Charles Osgood may not be the first person I’d name, but he’d likely be at my table for four if I could choose to have dinner with a few. Not because Osgood lived some amazing, adventurous life full of stories or because he was full of eternal, unmatched wisdom, but because he was a faithful steward of others’ stories and wisdom, and I would never get sick of hearing him talk or sing.

We may not all have the storytelling skills or serene voice of Charles Osgood, but I think we could all learn a bit from his ability to highlight the wonders of our world and steward its stories with grace and peace.

1. I’ll be writing about Sunday Morning in the past tense a bit here because while it’s still on TV, I haven’t watched it in a number of years—really since around when Charles left. No offense to the new host, who is wonderful in her own right!

2. It still is, by the way, I just don’t watch these days.