The announcement came with some shock.  Barbara Walters is retiring.  The most iconic woman in news to grace the television screen is going to hang it up in 2014.

From the time I was a small child watching her on the Today Show, 20/20, being lampooned on Saturday night live by Gilda Radner, to sometimes watching her on The View, Barbara has always been there. The announcement of her retirement makes me feel old.

I can't say she doesn't deserve to retire.  She's 83 years old.  She's had health concerns in recent years.  She underwent heart surgery in 2010.  Just this past January she had chicken pox and suffered a concussion.

Walters has held every high profile position in television news.  I can't begin to even recount the interviews she's conducted over the years with world leaders and celebrities alike.  She's outlived most of them.  You know fame or infamy have finally arrived when Barbara Walters asks for an interview.  And next year, it's going to end.

Undoubtedly, there will be a year's worth of TV specials devoted to her career in broadcasting.  She is a living history book.  I for one, will be watching them all.  I just hope she writes her memoirs for future generations.

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