In the past week, I’ve received two forwarded e-mails with the words "You HAVE to watch this. It’s amazing and it made me cry!!!" followed by a link to a CBS Evening News story from Steve Hartman, a correspondent who is following a model created by late newsman Charles Kuralt, who produced the long-running, legendary "On the Road" segments for various CBS news programs. (I vaguely remember watching Kuralt’s dispatches from the Heartland when I was a kid. He would drive around in a big ol’ motor home, and man how I wished I could join him. Addendum: That all came to an end thanks to a disastrous 1990 California-to-Texas family RV trip that left me with a few psychological scars.) Hartman’s pieces are like Kuralt with a pinch or two of Jeanne Moos‘ CNN segments. You’ve got your senior citizen who goes back to high school at 79, a guy who still nurses a Lego obsession, and kids who ride sheep. You know, totally normal stuff! It’s premeditated pap, but it’s the kind of pap that old people, mothers, and those with a propensity for tearing up at Kodak commercials just love. It doesn’t hurt that Hartman always sounds like he’s trying to hold back a flood of tears as he’s narrating the segments—sometimes you wonder if this guy is going to be okay.
If, like me, you can never get enough of animals frolicking and being cute, then check out the clip below, which features Tara and Bella, an elephant and a dog who met in an animal sanctuary and became BFF Forevah. And when you’re done, do let me know if you felt a.) completely moved, b.) completely indifferent or c.) completely unable to cope with the level of sap that poured forth from your computer screen for two minutes and 44 seconds. Is this the stuff that guilty online pleasures are made of…or are you too far into your sugar shock to even type a response?
Waaaay too preachy. This guy has a long way to go before you can compare him to Charles Kuralt. I used to watch the CBS Evening News just to see Charles Kuralt (and I’m Canadian!). His segments were so understated and yet so profound that he never needed to moralize at the end of them. This guy needs to let his material speak for itself. I did enjoy seeing the dog run underneath the elephant, though.
If that had just been a video of the elephant and dog playing I would have been delighted, but the cheeseball narration kind of spoiled it. The animals were still cute, though.
Made me tear up first time I saw it. Then I learned that the dog’s injury was caused by being stepped on by the elephant!
I saw the broadcast of the story- SO LOVELY!! I am so glad that others are seeing it.
Loved it!!!!! So sweet!
Totally moved. What a great story!! Thanks for helping bring it to a wider audience.
B! It’s disgusting! Animals should stick to their own kind! More LIBERAL PROPAGANDA! Probably Circus animals anyway. SICK! SICK! SICK!
What a great story. I’m going to pass it along. The only thing that bothers me is that Tara will outlive Bella by many, many years. I hope they can bring in a new friend for Tara before that happens.
Wow! This article is cynicism at it’s finest! It’s a sweet story. No need to rail against it and then, kind of, secretly admit you like it. Just scream from the rooftop that you liked it unashamedly.
Last Lecture guy? Saw him on CBS via Steve Hartman first. Ditto autistic basketball manager who plays in the game and gets last basket. He may be a little sappy but, c’mon, elephant and dog? This is a great one.
love it, love it, love it!
Loved the story!
Yes, a bit on the extra sappy reporting style, “Take a good look America…Take a good look…World.”
it reminded me of the Kids Newz episode of The Simpsons, with Bart’s People.
Cute story, but loved your Jeanne Moos reference. She’s been a favorite for years.
I saw this online a couple weeks ago. Yeah, the ending is a bit cheesy, but I loved Tara and Bella! I’m always happy to see a sweet story like this.
Charles Kuralt was awesome. He made CBS’ Sunday Morning the most enjoyable tv of the week along with John Leonard and all of the reporters who had time to explain and explore a story. These pretty pieces are cute but vapid.
If you think that clip is sappy, check out the story of Shirley and Jenny. I first watched this documentary 7 years ago, and I still get choked up when I try to tell people about it!
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXKxgLvIS6Y
This is why I LOVE elephants.