The Years After 50 Can Be A

This May Sound Funny, But As Much As The 'today' Show Matured Me, It Also Was Something Of A Cocoon. I'd Been Happy There. I Never Went Into The Boss's Office And Pounded My Fist On The Desk, Saying, 'give Me More Money! Give Me A Prime-time Show!'

I've Come To Recognize What I Call My 'inside Interests.' Telling Stories. And Helping People Tell Their Stories Is A Sort Of Interpersonal Gardening. My Work At Nbc News Was To Report The News, But In Hindsight, I Often Tried To Look For Some Insight To Share That Might Spark A Moment Of Recognition In A Viewer.

I Was An Unusually Private Person - In A Way, Kind Of Insufferably So. I Think I Thought The Celebrity Thing When It Happened Was A Temporary Phenomenon, And I Was Above It.

My Parents Were Terrific - Mother Was A Church Organist And My Father Was Probably The Most Respected Person In Our Church Outside Of The Minister And Sometimes Maybe That Much. The Neighbors All Called Him - A Gentleman.

Most Of Us In The Baby-boom Generation Were Raised By Full-time Mothers. Even As Recently As 14 Years Ago, 6 Out Of 10 Mothers With Babies Were Staying At Home. Today That Is Totally Reversed. Does That Mean We Love Our Children Less Than Our Mothers Loved Us? No, But It Certainly Causes A Lot Of Guilt Trips.