By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

On an interior page of this morning's Wall Street Journal (which I am reading with a new zeal these days) is an indicator that times are changing faster than type can be set: on a page facing the giant jump article on AIG are two ads, above the fold: one for private planes (albeit prop, not jet) and another for a ticket broker -- the tickets for concerts and athletic events that the monied types buy through brokers for large amounts of cash. Will both ads be there, similarly positioned, a month from now?

With thanks to my wife for finding this next item, I wanted to pass along a sparkling, evocative piece of writing from NPR. It certainly spoke to me -- as I hope it speaks to all of you -- it's an essay that reads so much like the extended family I grew up in, and it so perfectly speaks to the philosophy of so many of the folks I've encountered and come to know in Texas and Louisiana.

I just spoke to a former managing director of one of the big Wall Street investment banks currently said to be "in play" -- who said he views this financial meltdown as "Wall Street finally sinking to the depths of our very sick national economy." Whether his assessment is correct or not can and will be debated -- for all of us huddled around CNBC's coverage here today, it's been another dicey day for this nation's financial underpinnings. By the way: congratulations on being the new owner of an insurance company!

We hope you can join us tonight.