Thus it was written in the epistle of Jim Kilgo,
> I know this is probably a stupid question

Nope.  I've yet to run across one of those :-).

>                                           and I apologies for wasted band
> width but here goes. How do you exit from the CRTL A if it is accidentally
> issued at the console?

If CTRL A is really what you mean and not CTRL B, simply pressing return will
get you out of it safely.  It will mutter a little bit, but you can ignore
that.  Alternatively, if the muttering bothers you, type RECALL and you'll be
back to normal operation.

HTH,
Ted
--
Ted Ashton ([log in to unmask]), Info Serv, Southern Adventist University
          ==========================================================
And perhaps, posterity will thank me for having shown it that the ancients
did not know everything.
                                        -- de Fermat, Pierre (1601?-1665)