He was always sort of a scrappy little kid wasn`t he? A bit of a fighter?

But of course when people watch morning television, Terry, it`s a very different animal. You know, they`re running around, they`re getting their kids ready for school, they`re probably doing eight million things, they`re brushing their teeth.

You know, you`ve got serious pieces, you`ve got light pieces, you`ve got cooking segments, you`ve got health-related topics, so it`s not as if they`ve had a unique personality from the get-go.

I beg. I call. I badger. I cajole. Part of the secret is everyone has fun and that`s really motivating.

And I`ve always - the competition is one aspect of the job, but I think if you`re too busy worrying about the competition, you don`t focus enough on what you`re doing.

A lot people I know - it drives them crazy when they`re watching, to see the people with their signs and waving, but there`s something that`s very inclusive about it.

I could announce one morning that the world was going to blow up in three hours and people would be calling in about my hair!

They see us interacting with people, they see us doing serious interviews, they see us having fun, and when you`re conversing with someone, you get a much clearer impression of who that person is than if they are just reading into a news piece.

At least for me personally, I`ve always tried to do a really good job every day, with each interview, and treat each interview seriously, and make the person I`m speaking with feel comfortable, hopefully make it an ideal experience.

I`ve always tried to stay true to my authentic self.

But, you know, they don`t enjoy the dinner hour together. It`s just not as much of a ritual at night and it`s interesting. I think the ritual is taking place perhaps more in the morning.

I feel like a human pinata. The disappointing thing is, no candy is going to spill out.

I think that good programming serves us all well. It gives people more choices. It makes us all try harder. And the competitive juices start flowing.

I think sometimes people project things on you, but I`m trying to handle everything that`s happened to me with a certain amount of grace, dignity and good manners. You just can`t necessarily win all the time.

You can`t please everyone, and you can`t make everyone like you.

If I hear the word `perky` again, I`ll puke.

Obviously, people in Texas have big hearts.

Now, if they`re there to talk about something specifically, and I determine through my own editorial judgment, that another area isn`t germane, or isn`t an important part of it, that`s something else. But we never agree to anything in advance, absolutely not.

You see, that`s the problem I have with "you people."

And they like being able to turn on the television day in and day out to see someone that they know and they feel comfortable with and trust hopefully and respect even.

I don`t know the vast majority of you personally, and it may sound kind of corny, but I really feel as if we`ve become friends through the years. And you`ve been with me during a lot of good times and some very difficult ones. I can`t tell you how grateful I am.

I could announce one morning that the world was going to blow up in three hours and people would be calling in about my hair!

The morning is an extremely lucrative time slot for network television and of course, if it`s making money, everybody wants a slice of that pie.

And that is, in an increasingly fragmented society - I`m getting a little bit esoteric here - people like routine, people like familiarity.

He would take the blow so you didn`t have to.

Joining CBS is a unique opportunity that came at the right time for me. I`m thrilled to become part of the rich tradition of CBS News.

All three networks have always had a morning show but now cable of course is taking some of that audience away and a variety of other things, probably the Internet as well.

That studies have shown that more people are getting up earlier, they`re getting their news earlier. They`re getting less sleep, getting up at earlier hours.

So I don`t really focus too much on that, and I think it`s dangerous if your goal in life is to get the other guy, then you`re not going to be doing a really quality job yourself.

Sometimes I think change is a good thing.

I think you get to know the people on the shows better than you do in any other format, because the audience sees us in so many different situations.

I know there`s a great deal of speculation, and while I appreciate the interest, kind of, my contract ends in May and I`m trying to figure out what I`m going to do. I`m fortunate to have a couple of opportunities to think long and hard about.