I'm writing this at 10:51 p.m. Central Time on Sunday night. It's been an interesting day.
I can't say that I've ever flown from New York to Boise to Chicago in one day, but that's what Matt and I did today.
The day began at 7:15 a.m., when a car arrived to pick me up at my apartment. We then drove over to Matt's apartment and were off to the airport by 7:30. Why were we going to Boise? Because Matt was going to interview Senator Larry Craig and his wife at their home in Boise, Idaho.
The interview got underway around 3 p.m. Mountain Time, and it was pretty compelling stuff. I watched the interview on a monitor in the Craigs' garage along with, among others, Senator Craig's attorney, Billy Martin (he also represents Michael Vick, among others).
You, of course, can see Matt's interview with the Craigs Tuesday at 8 p.m. on NBC in a special primetime edition of Matt Lauer Reports. And we'll have more coverage Wednesday morning on TODAY as well. I'm too tired right now to get into the details of the interview, but you should watch. Just trust me.
One of the highlights for me happened after the interview was over. Matt proved, once again, that he's a celebrity wherever he goes, even within our business.
A reporter from the local NBC affiliate in Boise spoke to him on camera for about five minutes, asking him about his interview with the Craigs and his experience seeing Idaho (he had been there before, on fly-fishing trips, but had never been to Boise -- and we were there for such a short period of time, I don't think either of us got a real sense of the city).
After that was all finished, we hopped back in the car with booking producer Matt Zimmerman and audio guru Mike Noseworthy, headed back to the airport and flew to Chicago.
As you may have already seen, Matt is doing the show from here Monday morning, and he's got some interesting interviews lined up -- including Sir Richard Branson, Judge Joan Lefkow (who is speaking on television for the first time since her husband and mother were murdered in 2005), and Erik Prince, the CEO and co-founder of Blackwater USA.
It's been a long, long day. And my wake-up call is coming in 4 1/2 hours, so there's little rest for the weary. But rest assured, I'll have more tales from the road tomorrow...