this, we don't accomplish anything in the world alone, and whatever happens is the result of the whole tapstry of one's life. from one thread to another that create something. >> we are watching coverage, of course, of the september 11th remembrances eight years later. and for some of these families, it never gets easier. and every year we hear the names of those that lost their lives. after hearing name after name after name, at some point it stops having the impact.

i remember after 9/11, "the new york times" having the pictures and stories, it was so gripping you would tear up reading it. and for you and so many in new york, you know what one name means that is read out today in a second, and how that affected so many lives over the past eight years of your family's life. >> well, it was such a traumatic moment, and so confusing and so many just random, horrible thoughts, and so many lives wrecked, as you know. when we did prepare the small obituaries, it helped some way. we were telling their stories. normally only famous people get obituaries in the "new york times."

here was every day people and what they were all about and what their families wanted you to know about them. that was very hard to do because you were talking to people that were just devastated emotionally. but it was so helpful to them ultimately. i think that was a real service. >> joe klein, new york and the country came together then probably not in a way it came together since world war ii. i remember coming to new york a month later and seeing firefighters from alabama or kansas. i remember giving a speech two weeks after 9/11, and, you know, we in the south love making fun of new york city. i remember the biggest line -- applause line was today we all love new york, and the entire place exploded. new york, that day, that time, that week, really connected with the rest of america in a way it probably never has. >> yeah, and it was also, you know, probably the high point of

george bush's presidency. i remember when he came out and threw out the first pitch at yankee stadium of the first ball game that was played after the tragedy. that first speech that he gave, you know, he had the whole country with him at that point. i guess one of the enduring tragedies of his presidency, he could have asked us to do anything then and he didn't ask us to do anything. >> do you remember, willie, him throwing out that pitch? >> yeah, he warmed up in the yankee stadium with derek jeter, and derek jeter said don't bounce it up there, they will boo you. and he walked out and threw a strike right down the middle and

the place went crazy. >> everybody was on the side, and rudy said don't let it get to your head. every one of these people voted against you. >> absolutely. >> i want to thank you for joining us. >> thank you, joe. >> a broadcast, the "today" show coverage as the events unfolded in real time.

>> we have a breaking newsstory to tell you about. apparently a plane crashed into the world trade center. it happened a few moments ago. we have very little information available at this point in time. on the phone we have jennifer who apparently witnessed this event. jennifer, can you hear me? >> hello. >> jennifer, can you please tell me what you saw and give me information about what is going on there. >> yes, it's quite terrifying. i came out of the subway and was heading to work in battery park at the kits carlton hotel, and i am now looking north at the world trade center, and it is the twin tower. you can hear the fire engines and the emergency crews behind me. it is unbelievable. when the fire first started --

hello? >> go ahead. we can hear you. >> this is something i have never seen before. i used to work in news. i have never saw any fire like this in the air. pieces of the building are flying down. i can't tell you, it's probably the top 20 floors. intense smoke. it's horrible. i cannot decide -- >> do you know what kind of plane it was? we are getting reports an airplane hit the building? >> i did not know that. i looked up and saw a big boom and fire. we were all saying that it would be a bomb and so high up. so perhaps it was a plane. we have no talk of a plane. however, i have to tell you, there are still things flying in the air.

i mean, it's mind boggling and horrifying. >> jennifer, it's matt lauer. have you seen anybody being taken out of the building that is injured? are their ambulances on the walk around the building? >> no, i have not gotten that close. my father works in the financial center and it's next door, to see if it's okay. i could not get through. i am far away, and i thought it might be dangerous to get too close. right now i am in battery park. it's only -- it's about a five-minute walk from here to the world trade center. but the smoke is incredible. i can't see the top of the tower. it's starting to cover the top of the second tower. >> we are looking at pictures right now with a huge gaping hole on the side of the building

and bill oowing smoke. >> you are looking north of the building so you are south of the building, is that right? >> yeah. >> we are looking at a picture on the north side of the building? >> i am on the opposite side. >> that is where the largest hole is. and then on the -- i think it's the west side of the building, we can also see some holes there that could have been from damage once the impact occurred. we have been told this is a plane. we don't have confirmation, but there is an enormous hole on the left side of the building. >> can you tell us what you heard when you heard the explosion? describe it for us. >> when i walked out of the subway, i looked at the twin towers. i just always look up there, and right when i looked up, there was a boom -- it was not that loud. it was not huge. however, what was unbelievable was the amount of fire.

it was a big ball of fire that just went up. and i looked around at people, and we were all horrified. i am stuttering because i am in such shock. i have never seen anything like it. it's just horrible. >> this is real cause for concern, because the world trade center is one of the busiest office buildings here in new york with hundreds and perhaps thousands of workers. >> the new york city office is there for the governor. >> and given the time that this has happened, it's probably appropriate to surmise people might have been in the building. >> we have seen the stories in the past where planes have hit buildings, small buildings. it would be hard to imagine that a small plane could create that kind of hole in the building like the world trade center. small planes tend to crumble and then fall down --