important as clear comprehensible speech. speech seems to have been degraded and penmanship is almost a lost art. tracy smith will be reporting our sunday morning cover story. ♪ i'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter ♪ > how is your handwriting? chances are it's not as good as theirs. does our legibility get better as we get older? >> no. what happens is we tend to peak around fourth grade. so that's it. >> reporter: a primer on penmanship and whether it matters anymore later on sunday morning. >> osgood: jan's story is is a story of love and devotion in the face of a terribly sad but increasingly common condition told by our barry petersen. >> yes, you look... yeah, i'd say. i like people. >> reporter: her name is jan carleton. she has early onset alzheimer's disease. >> darling. >> reporter: but she is not just a stranger. to me, this story is personal. how are you? >> there are survivor of heart attacks. there are survivors of cancer. there are survivors of lung disease. there are no survivors of alzheimers disease. >> reporter: a story i never thought i would tell as a reporter later on sunday morning. >> osgood: natalie portman is a highly accomplished star of the screen whose high profile award last sunday night may be just the beginning for her. this morning mo rocca pays her a visit. ♪ >> reporter: she's beautiful, talented, and very hard working. >> thank you very much. >> reporter: and did we mention she's also really smart? when you graduated from high school, you were voted most likely to? >> to be on jeopardy. >> reporter: instead she's the talk of hollywood. natalie portman, later on sunday morning. >> osgood: a one track mind is what many a determined collector has been accused of having. in the case of the collector martha teichner will be dropping in on, there are many tracks and many trains. >> reporter: a lot of people have model train sets in their basements. but believe me, they're nothing like what jerry green has. >> i was obsessed. i just went at it as if it was the most important thing in the world to me. >> reporter: now he's selling his collection. but first a good look. be prepared to become a kid all over again. later this sunday morning. >> osgood: we'll have the latest on keith olbermann's abrupt departure from cable news on friday night. serena altschul will take us to here a pianist. we'll get two perspectives on the so-called tiger mom controversy and more. but first here are the headlines for this sunday morning, the 23rd of january, 2011. two weeks after congresswoman gabrielle giffords was shot in the head, doctors at the texas medical center in houston say their new patient is progressing nightly. her doctor says she's grown even more alert since arriving on friday from tucson. those anti-government protests in tunisia seem to be echoing thousands of miles away in yemen. yesterday thousands of protesters, upset with their president's 32-year rule demanded his ouster during a demonstration in aden. the technology in china just unveiled stealth fighter likely came from the united states. according to the associated press some experts believe china collected the wreckage of an american f-117 stealth fighter shot down over serbia in 1999. washington dignitaries turned out yesterday for the funeral mass of sergeant shriver. peace corps founder and 1972 vice presidential candidate. later he was laid to rest at a cemetery in barnstable massachusetts. apple says its apps store has hit the 10 billionth download mark. the company announced that milestone on its website yesterday. the nfl conference champions will be determined today starting off in chicago where the bears take on their arch rival the green bay packers. and later in a game you can see here on cbs, the pittsburgh steelers play host to the new york jets. today's winners will meet at the super bowl. as for the nation's weather, the cold may be a factor in both football games. in chicago, pittsburgh, and across much of the north, temperatures won't get any higher than in the low teens. snow and rain will move across the middle of the country. and the days ahead will bring more cold along with the possibility of snowstorms in the north and northeast. in the sun belt, it should get back to being sunny and mild. >> we're going to do it the same way. down. >> osgood: next, is penmanship being written off? >> natalie. >> reporter: later, golden glgl,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: generations of school kids learn penmanship from blackboards like this one. whether future generations will learn to write their abcs by hand at all, however, is very much in doubt. signing off is the title of our cover story reported now by tracy smith. >> boys and girls, i'm going to show you how you make these letters. so watch how i do this. down, up and over. see that? ♪ i'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter ♪ >> reporter: if it's been a while since you felt the excitement.... >> that is amazing. >> reporter:... or the pain. >> can you erase it and try again. >> reporter:... of putting pen to paper, spend a few moments with krystal walters' kindergarten class in upper arlington, ohio. >> you can see so much meaning and passion in their penmanship. you know, even if it's, you know, all in capitals and a mix, it makes you smile. >> reporter: handwriting is still an essential skill for kids, but in the world beyond school, the one filled with computers and cell phones and you name it, we're losing our grip on penmanship. it's not that we're not writing. every day we send 294 billion emails and nearly five billion text messages but for adults the tactile personal art of handwriting-- you're looking at mine-- has pretty much been reduced to shopping lists and credit card signatures. >> we don't use it as much, but that's an old story. we haven't used handwriting the way we used to use handwriting for well over 100 years. this is from the 1880s. >> reporter: this woman is a history professor at the state university of new york at buffalo. and the author of a history of handwriting in america. what was the handwriting of the pilgrims like? >> well, first you have to recognize that not everybody could write. and then even more strangely there were people who could read but not write. the two skills were taught separately and uchbd to have separate purposes. >> reporter: in the 1700 and 1800s, if your handwriting was good enough, you could actually make it a career. >> well, there were professional penmen, professional writing masters who would produce penmanship tour de forces as a kind of calling card. this is what i can do. >> reporter: flat rogers spencer was the first american penman to create a national model for handwriting. it was a fancy one. >> spencerian was very fussy and time consuming. you had to get the shading just right. it would flow. >> reporter: we know spencerian today as the script used in the coca-cola leaguer but that's about all. because the arrival of the typewriter in the late 19th century presented enormous competition for handwriting. a new man took up the challenge, a.n.palmer. >> he really was the penmanship emperor of the 20th century. >> reporter: palmer said speed it up. >> what palmer was thinking and to some extent saying is we have to have a modern 20th century script for modern 20th century business conditions. fast. efficient. that way we can keep up with the typewriter. it's big on drill work. >> reporter: regimentation that palmer believed would do more than just create good handwriting. it could make model citizens. >> penmanship could reform delinquents. penmanship could assimilate immigrants. penmanship could do just about everything except cure acne. >> reporter: moreover handwriting was seen not just as a product of good habits but of your character itself. that gave rise to handwriting analysis. >> it was all the rage particularly in the early 1900s. >> reporter: there were even graphology columns in magazines to which readers could submit their handwriting. >> what handwriting reveals. >> reporter: and find out their true self. >> what i see in your handwriting, i see a great deal of conscientiousness and sincerity. on the other side i can see prigishness, considerable self-satisfaction. >> reporter: and get this. before the 1920s, students weren't taught to write in print. they only learned curs i have been. so abraham lincoln never printed. >> he would not have printed. >> reporter: and learning script took a lot of time. >> and we recommended back then, and most teachers did, about 30 to 45 minutes. >> reporter: kathleen wright is with one of the largest handwriting instruction companies. >> practice those. we're going to do it the same way. >> reporter: she says they've had to adapt to all the subjects crammed into a student's schedule. >> so we've simplified it to about 15 minutes of direct instruction. >> reporter: today children start with print and then move on to cursive. >> the script we teach kids today is simple and efficient. americans are all about efficiency. >> reporter: steve graham is a literacy expert at vanderbilt university. graham says that just as computers are a technology, so are pencils and paper. our pen and pencil still the most practical technology we have? >> well, they're clearly the simplest. they're the cheapest. and in many ways the most portable. are they the most effective? that's a different question. if you take a look at having kids write on word processors over a period of time versus writing by hand, kids who write on word processors over time have better quality writing. >> reporter: so if kids just by passed handwriting altogether and started on keyboard, would they suffer? >> probably not. >> reporter: others disagree with graham. citing studies that show that for kids handwriting is more effective than typing for stimulating memory and language skills. and with computers still scarce in some classrooms and keyboards a poor fit for kids' hands, all agree penmanship counts. >> it does matter. people form judgments about the credibility of your ideas based upon your handwriting. >> reporter: so a kid with good handwriting could get better grades? >> yes. and a kid with poor handwriting gets lower grades on writing assignments. >> reporter: does our legibility get better as we get older? >> no. what happens is you tend to peak around 4th grade. so most handwriting instruction stops at about 4th grade. >> reporter: some of us are reminded of that fourth grade peak the hard way. >> penmanship was the problem from the handwritten note from gordon brown. >> reporter: when british minister gordon brown wrote a letter to a mother of a soldier killed in afghanistan his sloppy hand and spelling errors so incensed her she released the letter to the press causing a penmanship scandalment most of us don't give our own handwriting glowing reviews. a sunday morning poll finds that while eight out of ten of us write at least some of the time, only 18% call their handwriting excellent. >> your handwriting is good enough. it doesn't have to be something from a medieval monastery. >> reporter: noted calligrapher marg it shepherd has written two books encouraging readers to step away from the mouse and pen handwritten notes. >> the worst handwriting is still way ahead of the best, trickiest, cuteest little email. >> reporter: after all, so much of our national history has been written by hand, and our personal history too. >> whenever i come across a letter of my mother's, it's like i hear her voice. she's in the room with me. and for communications between you and someone you really value, a handwritten letter is just awesome. ♪ i'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter ♪ >> reporter: why does handwriting even matter? >> because you can't just have a computer everywhere you go. it could be out of batteries or it crashes. you can still pick up a pencil and paper. >> reporter: even these fourth graders still struggling with how to form those cursive capitals seem to get that handwriting has a place at least somewhere. >> sometimes maybe if you're stranded on an island or something, then you'll know how to write. ♪ i'm going to sit right down and write myself a letter ♪ >> reporter: on a desert island, on a job application, or for the history books, it just may be too soon to sign off on penmanship. >> osgood: which bring us to john hancock's john hancock next. when you've lost interest in everything. when you've had one too many days feeling sad or anxious... aches and pains, fatigue. when it becomes hard to ignore that you need help. that's the day you do something. depression hurts. cymbalta can help with many symptoms of depression. tell your doctor right away if your depression worsens, you have unusual changes in behavior or thoughts of suicide. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not approved for children under 18. people taking maois or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing of the skin or eyes. talk with your doctor about your medicines, including those for migraine, or if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, to address a possible life-threatening condition. tell your doctor about alcohol use, liver disease, and before you reduce or stop taking cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. side effects include nausea, dry mouth, and constipation. is today your day? talk to your doctor... and go to cymbalta.com for a free 30-capsule trial offer. depression hurts. cymbalta can help. ♪ >> osgood: and now a page from our sunday morning almanac. january 23, 1737. 274 years ago today. the day penmanship met statesmanship. for that was the day john hancock was born, just outside boston. after inheriting a huge fortune from his uncle, hancock became the city's most prominent merchant, frustrated by british restrictions on trade, hancock took a leading role in revolutionary politics, first in boston and then in philadelphia. as the presiding officer of the second continental congress. john hancock was the first to sign the declaration of independence. with such a flourish it became part of our history and folklore. >> we're about to brave the storm in a skip made of paper. >> reporter: as depicted in the movie 1776 with david ford as hancock. >> that's a pretty large signature, johnny. >> so fat george in london can read it without his glasses. >> reporter: though hancock's quote is likely improbable his indisputeably bold curs i have been tile made the name i don't know hancock with the word signature forever more. he went on to serve as governor of massachusetts and as a chair of the state convention that ratified the u.s. constitution. john hancock died in 1793 at the age of 56. his name and his distinctive signature live on. since 1862 an insurance company has honored his memory. >> john hancock, the future is yours. >> osgood: and sky scrapers bearing his name on landmarks in both boston and chicago. and from 1979 to 2000 john hancock's name and signature could be found on an active duty u.s. navy destroyer. even john hancock himself would have needed help signing that one. >> osgood: so how did pianist simone dinnertein get to carnegie hall? stay tuned. for three hours a week, i'm a coach. but when i was diagnosed with prostate cancer... i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. >> osgood: that is the late glen gould performing the goldberg variations by bach. for years critics have considered his interpretation to be the best, the gold standard. now there's a new contender. with serena altschul, we take note. ( applause ) >> reporter: simone dinnertein has played some of the world's biggest stages from london to new york. ♪ and she's released two critically acclaimed number one albums. quite an accomplishment for a 38-year-old pianist who not that long ago found out the only way she would play carnegie was to pay for it herself. >> i feel incredibly lucky because i am really having the career at the moment that i dreamt about having when i was a kid. it's kind of hard to realize that it's actually happening. >> reporter: but it's been a highly unusual road to stardom. her father sigh moan an artist and mother renee didn't give her lessons until she was seven. a late start by classical music standards. >> i remember her saying to me that when i grow up, i want to be a solo pianist. and i want to play on the new york stage. i remember thinking, oh, my daughter is in for so much pain. ♪ >> reporter: mom was right. long hours of practiceing, isolated dinnertein from friends and often left her lonely. >> i very much identified myself as being a musician. that was a very important part of my personality. i probably would have had an easier time with the other kids if i hadn't made such a point of it. >> reporter: but while music can isolate, it can also inspire. ♪ >> reporter: and at 13 dinnertein discovered legendary interpreter of bach, glen gould, and his recording of the goldberg variations. it was thought to have been written as a lull buy by bach and first performed by german composer johan goldberg. >> i was at a friend's house. he put that recording on. i remember it just stopped me in my tracks. i couldn't believe how great it was. >> reporter: after attempting to play it, dinnertein set the piece aside. >> i didn't think i could play it. i mean not only did i think i wouldn't be able to play it physically, but i just felt that i would not have anything worth saying that glen gould had not already said. >> reporter: dinnertein went on to study at juilliard, but shocked her family and friends by dropping out. determined to find her own voice, she headed to london to study and be with her boyfriend jeremy greensmith. there she became an accomplished pianist. but try as she might, never a star. eventually she packed it in and returned to juilliard and brooklyn with jeremy who became her husband. they started a family while she gave piano lessons and played small concerts wherever she could. you've played in retirement homes. you've played in a prison. >> um-hum. >> reporter: you didn't play your 90-minute goldberg. >> i didn't play a goldberg variations. >> reporter: but bach's goldberg variations were never far from her mind. feeling washed up as a musician at 30, she decided to make her own attempt to master the music she had fallen in love with as a child. ♪ what do you love about it most? >> it's almost not like a piece of music. i mean it's almost like a meditation. you are really taken to a different place. it's actually the same feeling to play it. ♪ >> it took me a while to perform it well. it was a really hard piece. >> reporter: so dinnertein scraped together $15,000 from friends and family to record her performance. the first tracks soon leaked out on the internet and caused a flurry of excitement in the music world. >> i thought that this was just really gutsy and really cool. >> reporter: david patrick stearns is the music critic at the philadelphia inqiner and was at the recording session. >> the gold bering... goldbergs really take you on a journey. the most important thing is she takes you on her journey. it's all hers. >> reporter: with the recording in hand dinnertein had her own ideas about what to do next. rather than audition for a record label, she decided to capitalize on her buzz by playing the goldberg variations live for critics. it was all or nothing. she rented a recital space at carnegie hall to play a concert of her life. were you nervous? >> i was very nervous for that concert. it was a really huge concert for me. ♪ >> reporter: it was a smash. soon major labels were clamoring to release her record. it came out august 28, 2007. dinnertein was on national public radio in new york that day. something incredible happened. >> our producers went online just before we started today. your album is number 4 on the amazon charts. not the classical charts. >> which was crazy. it was like bruce springsteen and then the goldberg variations. you know? so great. what a good day. >> it was a really great day. >> reporter: by the end of the week it was number one on the charts. concert requests poured in. and by year's end dinnertein's record was on numerous prestigious top ten lists. even oprah took notice. >> i kind of couldn't believe it. i really couldn't. i don't know how they got that to do what it did. i really don't. but i was glad to see that it happened. >> reporter: it happened again a year later with a number one record of a live concert in berlin. ♪ now dinnertein's hoping that her new album out this past week will also top the charts. >> there's something about it that's a bit of a fairy tale. it doesn't feel quite real in a way that this is happening. >> reporter: for simone dinnertein, the dream she had all those years ago has come true at last. ♪ >> somebody i love. >> osgood: coming up, a very personal story from our barry petersen. but first let it snow. ,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: and now a look at this winter's snow by the numbers. just one month and two days into winter, and people in much of the country, 49 of the 50 states, have already seen and shoveled and plowed more snow than they ever dreamed of. according to figures compiled by the associated press, new york has been socked by more than 36 inches of snow, well over the 21 inches that fall on average during an entire winter. boston has been hit by 50 inches. more than its average of 4.5 winter total. and it's not just the northeast. even atlanta has seen six full inches this winter. 20 times the usual .3 inches. and the onslaught of all that white is translating into the loss of a lot of green. georgia officials reportedly believe that they have already snow blown their way through a $10 million emergency reserve fund. new york city spent its entire $40 million snow budget just on that big day after christmas blizzard. that's just for starters. winter doesn't end until march 20, almost two full months away. >> and then sometimes when i get too teary.... >> osgood: ahead, jan's story. 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>> reporter: jan charlton was a promising television reporter. >> when he was born, this was poland. in a few years' time it was germany. >> reporter: she went on to work for cnn, abc. >> the nobles say they don't want revenge, just recognition. >> reporter: even cbs sunday morning. >> the truth about this country's past. >> reporter: she was lively, daring. one of those people who celebrates life. >> give me that back. >> that's okay. use it. >> reporter: but at only 40 years old, the subtle changes began. the lapses in memory. five years ago when she was 55, she received a diagnosis both awful and heart breaking. jan had alzheimer's disease. >> let's go have a seat. >> yes, you look... yeah, i'd say. i like people. >> reporter: it has moved so fast that she is now in an assisted living facility where this once bright, articulate woman struggles to make sense. >> how do you feel about being here? >> well mostly i like people. >> reporter: it can be painful to watch. >> if they said... if they said something first thing in the morning, first thing in the morning... yes, coffee. that's good. >> reporter: judy pring oversees the uchb it where jan lives. >> (humming) >> i will go to get her lunch. she will be talking quite animatedly sometimes. she's talking in the mirror. she's very concerned about whether or not the person in the mirror is going to come with us to lunch. she'll always say what about her? i will say, no, jan. just you and i will sit and have lunch together. she'll say okay. she always makes sure she says good-bye to the person in the mirror. >> reporter: for me this is not just another piece of journalism. as i'll explain in a moment, it's personal. but to understand jan's tragedy, you must understand what happens when alzheimer's strikes one so young. >> alzheimer's disease is a condition that affects the whole way someone is. it affects their personality. it affects their behavior. it affects their thinking, their memory. it affects their ability to speak. >> reporter: dr. james galvin is professor of neurology and psychiatry at new york university's medical center. he says most alzheimer's patients are in their 70s and 80s. but it can also strike as young as 30 when it is called early or younger onset. >> there are about 250,000 americans who have the disease before age 65. >> reporter: the first thing to know about alzheimers is that there is no cure. the second, there is no known cause. and even worse, says beth, a senior director at the alzheimers association.... >> there's no evidence that shows that you can prevent alzheimers disease. >> reporter: you can't do a million cross word puzzles? >> right now what the research is showing us is that you cannot stop it by doing certain things. >> reporter: and as baby boomers age, the problem will get far worse. right now some five million people have it. by mid century, that number is expected to triple. >> about 10 to 11:30. >> reporter: that reality haunts pat van dyke on an outing to the dallas museum of art for people with alzheimer's disease she seems out of place. too young for an illness usually associated with old age. her early onset was diagnosed six years ago at age 52. >> i mean every day i know, you know, my time is getting shorter. i just need to do everything i can while i can and enjoy it. enjoy life. >> reporter: for pat, the hardest part may be ahead. when the ravages of the disease will likely force her into a long term care facility. and she says that she will not want visits from the granddaughters she so cherishes. >> because i don't want hem to see me like that. >> reporter: why would you want them to not see you at some point? what is it you want to avoid? >> i want to avoid the later stages. >> reporter: them seeing you. >> them seeing me not knowing them, not recognizing them. i don't want them to see that. that i don't know who they are. i mean that's very hard for somebody. >> i just like people. as normal people. >> reporter: the future for pat may look a lot like the present for jan charlton. >> darling! >> reporter: as i mentioned earlier, for me jan's story is both personal and painful. a story this reporter never expected to tell. >> somebody i love. >> reporter: jan charlton peterson is my wife. jan loved me without measure. she was all i wanted in this life. it was a love affair that had a beginning but was never supposed to end. that is what this horror of a disease stole and destroyed. jan and i were married in 1985. cbs posted us to tokyo and moscow, on to london and back to asia. one of the things i loved most about her was how she embraced each new city as a new adventure. >> and i want to see him all the time because he is... i never see him. >> reporter: she did all that with a man who is now a fading memory, who lives for her in the third person. >> and then sometimes when i get too teary because i do love him. and i just couldn't do without him. >> reporter: and no matter how often it happens, nothing and no one can soften the agony when she has no idea that the man sitting with her holding her as tightly as i can is that same barry. what's his name? >> mr. happy. >> reporter: that's his name. >> (laughing) yes. >> reporter: when jan was first diagnosed i took care of her myself. as she got worse i hired a live-in caregiver. finally when her anger and confusion were slipping out of control, i had to put her into an assisted living facility where on each painful visit i see the changes as she disappears a little more. a friend calls it grieving, like saying good-bye by going to the same funeral over and over again. >> because it's such a long process and a long road that a family travels down together, it changes family dynamics. it takes away all our pre-conceived notions about how families should look and how they should function. >> i think i'm always... i think i'm going to be in his life. >> reporter: and jan will always be in my life. but life continues. i learned from jan early on to treat each day as beyond value, which presented me with one of the most difficult decisions i've ever had to make when i met mary. >> the reality is i am a widow. the reality is that he is married to a woman that doesn't remember him. and so we exist in our own universe of this very peculiar new american family. >> reporter: mary lost her husband of 22 years in an accident. we now live together. before you judge us harshly.... >> this truly is a case of having to walk in someone's shoes before you make a judgment about how you would react and respond in similar circumstances. >> hi! how are you? somebody else to tickle. >> reporter: together we visit jan and together we watch over her. mary understood from the beginning that ours is a relationship of three because it will always include jan. the woman mary now calls her friend. >> when you meet jan, you can't not love her. she is vivacious and open and warm and if i love barry, i couldn't not love jan. >> reporter: and i vowed that jan's life would not be lost in the wasteland of alzheimer's so i've written jan's story. it is also a forewarning because millions more may soon be in my same sad journey as alzheimer's triples by mid century. the jan i knew is all but gone to me now. but i remember what she always taught me: to embrace life and to do that i must go on. >> this is the last edition of countdown. >> osgood: next, what happened?,,,,,,,,,,,,,, >> osgood: the world of cable tv news is still trying to figure out what led to keith olbermann's sudden announcement friday night that his program has come to an end? we're on the case. >> reporter: nearly eight years after he began hosting ms-nbc's top-rated show countdown with keith olbermann. >> this is the last edition of countdown. >> reporter: the veteran broadcaster said good-bye to his viewers friday night. >> there were many occasions particularly in the last two-and-a-half years where all surrounded the show was just too much for me. >> reporter: olbermann never said why he was leaving. during his tumultuous tenure his liberal views became the driving force behind ms-nbc's prime time shift to the political left. but tensions with his bosses mounted. felix gilette is with bloomberg business week. >> keith olbermann has been battling with ms-nbc management for two-and-a-half years at least. >> reporter: in november olbermann was suspended for two days for making donations to democratic candidates including congresswoman gabrielle giffords, in violation of company ethics policies. in a statement friday night, ms-nbc said the company and olbermann had, quote, ended their contract, adding ms-nbc thanked keith for his integral role in ms-nbc's success. robert thompson is a professor of television and pop culture at syracuse university. >> that whole prime time lineup kind of built on the, quote unquote, brand that olbermann represented for them. >> reporter: olbermann's departure comes just a few days after cable giant comcast received government approval to acquire ms-nbc's parent company nbc universal. and ms-nbc spokzman denied the merger had anything to do with the decision. and comcast, which is expected to close the deal this week, said in a statement it has no operational control at any of nbc's properties including ms- nbc. late friday ms-nbc host rachael, olbermann's protege said she knew little about what happened. >> all i knew it was between keith and the company. it didn't involve any of the rest of us. he was really gracious and nice when he left. >> reporter: "new york times" media writer brian said rachael is now the hare apparent. >> in a way she's the next generation of ms-nbc. still in her 30s. she's able to carry the ball forward. >> reporter: olbermann was reportedly in the middle of a four-year $30 million contract. it's not clear if there's a con compete clause which would keep him from showing up elsewhere any time soon. >> osgood: next, the black swan's natalie portman. >> you know, they may judge me harshly. >> osgood: later, two takes on the tiger mob controversy. ,,,,,,,,,,,, >> what i need is someone who will be in my bed at 2:00 a.m. whom i don't have to lie to or eat breakfast with. >> i hate breakfast. >> it's sunday morning on cbs, and here again is charles osgood. >> osgood: natalie portman plays opposite in a film about a no commitments couple. that's a very different role from the one she was honored for a week ago. mo rocca now with our sunday profile. >> reporter: if you had any doubt that natalie portman is all grown up, go see black swan. as nina, a ballerina driven mad in a quest for perfection, portman delivers a sexy, scary performance that last sunday won the star, now pregnant, a golden globe. >> right down here to your right, please. >> reporter: it's the latest in a string of critically acclaimed and transforming performances. >> give me something, anything. >> i'd rather die. >> reporter: including her head shaven revolutionary in v for vendetta. her charming free spirit in garden state. >> i can tap dance. do you want to see me tap dance? >> reporter: and her 2005 golden globe winning turn as a stripper in closer. >> 20 years ago, how old were you? >> four. >> you were in nappies. >> my nappies were flared. >> reporter: her range has earned 29-year-old portman a reputation as perhaps the best actress of her generation. >> i was a really show offy little kid. i just wanted everyone to look at me, you know. >> reporter: born in israel, natalie was an only child raised on new york's long island by her mom shelly an artist and her dad avner, a doctor. you were discovered in a? >> in a pizza parlor. >> reporter: she was spotted by an agent for revlon cosmetics. he told her he thought she could do commercials. but she had other ideas. >> i was like i don't want to model. i want to act. this is my ten-year-old self. >> reporter: she was cast as the orphaned apprentice to a hitman in the professional. and she started using her grandmother's maiden name. >> what's a nice jewish girl from long island starring as an aspiring assassin. >> my parents were equally confused. they were like, no, absolutely not. no, no,. are you guys kidding me? this is a great movie. >> reporter: her parents releapted but her father demanded script provisions. the character's cursing and smoking were strictly limited. >> they had a system where i wouldn't actually smoke. i'd have someone behind me blow the smoke so it would look like i was smoking. you can kind of tell. >> reporter: the smoking was fake. but portman was a natural. >> you, me and you. >> reporter: as the precocious neighbor in beautiful girls she was a girl both beautiful and wise beyond her years. >> we have a little age problem. >> i know romeo and juliette. tragedy. >> reporter: precocious. how do you feel about that word? >> i don't know. it took me a long time, i think, to stop wanting to be older than i was. and then one day you're like, wait, i'm actually supposed to be this level of maturity. no one is impressed. no one is patting me on the back for being like witty or cute. >> like when i walk through the plaza and go into the theater. >> reporter: in real life portman says she wasn't much at all like the little adult she was playing on screen. >> you've got a girlfriend? >> why do you ask? >> i don't know. you're a dude in flux. >> i had no idea what that meant. i would like you're a dude in flux. i had no idea what i was talking about. >> reporter: do you think it gets harder to act as you get older? >> oh, yeah, you're more aware of what you look like and sound like. so it you can be more self-conscious. (star wars theme) >> reporter: no film captured that awkward phase more than the star wars prequel trilogy. >> i am queen. >> reporter: the movies were gigantic hits. portman was not. >> although we do not always agree, your honor, our two great societies have always lived in piece. >> reporter: did that shake your confidence? >> i think so. i think the good thing about when people knock you down is that it... i mean when someone is you can't do that. i'm going to be like yes i can, watch. >> reporter: always an excellent student, portman knew that if acting didn't work out she had her education to fall back on. she earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from harvard university. to the tabloid media she'sdown right boring. you're never caught out drunk. you've never caught being rude. >> my job is to make people believe i'm someone else. so it's not very good for anyone to like, you know, know too much about what i'm really like. my friends know who i am. otherwise i just try and be bland. ♪ i don't sleep mother (beep) ♪ > but when she performs she's anything but. >> you're a crazy chick. >> reporter: she lampooned her good girl image with a gangster rap on saturday night live in 2006. >> it would be the first time people thought that i could be funny. people starting calling me for comedies after that. >> i can't focus with all this going on around me. >> reporter: case in point her comedy no strings attached which opens this week jechbd. >> you are such an overachiever. >> thank you. >> reporter: it couldn't be more different than her role in black swan. >> my daughter, the swan queen. >> reporter: to play nina portman underwent her own transformation. >> the director took me aside before the film and was like i want you to get as thin as you can without being sick. >> reporter: how much did you end up losing? >> about 20 pounds. >> reporter: your body changed. >> yeah. you definitely see changes. your chest opens and your arms get longer. literally longer. through a lot of work. >> reporter: like many hard- working people, portman fell in love with someone she met at her job shortly after our interview she revealed that she's engaged to choreographer benjamin, her on-screen dance partner in black swan. but portman isn't tipping her hand about marriage. >> i mean i want to be in like a long-term committed relationship. marriage is less important to me because, i don't know, i'm not sure how different it is from just being like i am committed to you forever. i'm not like anti-. i just don't necessarily understand it. the specific difference. >> reporter: she's announced that she and benjamin are having a baby. she's in her second trimester. when it comes to pregnancy, portman isn't concerned about religious expectations. >> it's important for me to retain my jewish culture and my jewish identity. you know, pass that on to the future. but i think, you know, i mean, if we can take any clue from genetics, it's that mixing is the best. mixing is the healthiest for your children. >> reporter: did you ever imagine yourself as a dancer here? >> i think it was probably a sort of childhood dream. >> reporter: portman believes in diversity not just in genetics but also in films. she's built a career choosing roles both surprising and challenging. black swan is expected to earn her her second oscar nomination. and given everything we know about natalie portman, an oscar just might be the least surprising thing of all. how much of your success, do you think, is due to sheer focus and will? >> look, i think anyone who does well and doesn't credit luck with a lot of it is not being honest. i mean, i'm very focused. i'm very hard working. i feel like the least i can do for all the luck i have is to be doing this job that i absolutely love. >> the sunday profile sponsored by... know what i need? what's that? an insurance entity to mitigate my exposure to monetary losses caused by mortality, morbidity and longevity risks. well, have you calculated the net present value of your future liabilities? the risk aversion component? oh yeah, that's a doozy. ancr: people don't talk like this. you're telling me. us either. physicians mutual cuts through the clutter to make insurance simple. maybe we should talk. physicians mutual. insurance for all of us. ever wish vegetables didn't taste so vegetably? well, v8 v-fusion juice gives you a full serving of vegetables, plus a full serving of fruit. but it just tastes like fruit. v8. what's your number? your favorites, in pieces. >> osgood: you may have heard about a new book sending out a controversial school of thought on child rearing. michelle miller in berkeley and celia in beijing have been considering its impact here and there. michelle goes first. >> on a chilly san francisco street this past week, people lined up to hear how a 5'1 3/4" yale law school professor imposed her iron will on her daughter. >> this book is not a research project. it's a memoir about a lot of my mistakes. it's more like a don't try this at home as opposed to a how-to guide. >> critics say amy chu's battle hymn of the tiger mother is a how-to guide to extreme parenting. that only the best is good enough. that means no play dates, no computer games, no goofing off. >> you really struck a nerve. did you expect it? >> no. i didn't. >> reporter: in the blogosphere this daughter of chinese immigrants is being called heartless and worse. death threats? >> i've had a few. >> reporter: what is fueling this fury? parents are anxious about the survival of their kids in this competitive world. they need to know the best way to get their kids on the path to success. asians make up less than 5% of the u.s. population, but they dominate at elite universities. at harvard asians are nearly 13% of students. at the university of california at berkeley, 34% of students. but who is to say they all had tiger moms? >> these aren't techniques that work. >> reporter: university of california sociologist christine carter worries that when parents demand straight as, kids learn the wrong lesson. >> they learn that failure is not ever okay. knowing who you are, what you want, how to make a mistake, how to pick yourself up, those are all skills that lead to happiness and success in life. >> i'm not going to play anymore. why should i? >> reporter: all that achieving can be tough on kids. amy describes relentless piano lessons her mother forced her to take. >> i'm not your slave. this isn't china. you can't make me. >> reporter: amy is not retracting what she said but some think she may have gone too far when she threatened to burn her daughter's stuffed animals and called them names. >> is it okay to call your kids garbage? >> i think that's a little harsh. >> some people would say that's abuse. >> nothing abusive. one of the anxieties of parenting is we don't know. >> reporter: writer and mother of four, this woman took her own hits online after writing she loved her husband more than she loved her kids. she says the furor over tiger moms reflects a basic maternal fear. >> as mothers today, we have this deep well spring of anxiety that we're doing it wrong, that we're screwing up, we're somehow preventing our children from succeeding. >> reporter: when see china succeeding economically, when we see asian-american kids getting ahead in school, nervous parents wonder. >> because we're so afraid all the time, we are looking for ways to make ourselves feel better. the best way, the easiest way to feel better is to find the mother that you can identify as "the" bad mother. >> how mad can anybody be about somebody's memoir? it's just my life. >> reporter: the answer is plenty mad. but consider her kids. two academically stellar girls of the and... are they anger ranging over their mother's book. >> the daughter writes i'm amazed that our mom turned our totally boring life into such a comedy, dramatic and meaningful story. >> this is celia in beijing where the chinese mother doesn't fit the american stereotype. this woman and her ten-year-old daughter are inseparable. whether they're sharing a musical moment or holding hands on the ice. she doesn't know much about the book battle hymn of the tiger mother nor the roar of controversy it's caused. but she's sure she doesn't fit the ethnic typecast of an ambitious domineering mom. >> sometimes she doesn't like to study or she tells mime i'm too tired. i will listen to her. after that i will talk to her like a friend. >> reporter: amy's book talks about chinese mothers but in a country of 1.3 billion people it's tough to make any generalizations about how parents raise their children. most chinese families are only allowed one child under the country's strict family planning rules. the chance to raise a child just once and the pressure to get it right led china to have its own fierce disputes over child rearing. only-children are a hot topic in china. lack of parenting has been blamed for a host of issues from internet addiction to soaring child obesity. on the flip side, some pressure their children to succeed academically at any cost. this is just a fraction of the country's children will land a spot in a top college. chinese schools have long relied on rote learning and memorization. but many moms and dads are now questioning that. they want to ensure their kids enjoy a relaxed childhood. i won't force my son to do what i want him to do, stay at home mom explains. i hope he'll be grown up enough to make his own decisions. as china's astrological year of the tiger draws to a close, many here hope the myth of china's fierce tiger mothers will too. >> osgood: next, all aboard. guidance, i get exactly where i want to go. >> gps: turn left ahead. >> turbotax has a unique gps feature that guides me to every deduction and credit i deserve. and calculations are guaranteed accurate. so i get my maximum refund, guaranteed. >> man: try turbotax now. , dog: bacon? gotta get that bacon! dog: yummy. crunchy. bacon. bacon. bacon. there, in that bag! mom: who wants a beggin' strip? dog: me! i'd get it myself but i don't have thumbs! yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! beggin' strips! there's no time like beggin' time! , yum, yum, yum... it's beggin'! hm... i love you! ♪ crossing borders with ease ♪ ♪ clearing customs' a breeze ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a-di-os, cheerio, au revoir ♪ ♪ off it goes, that's logistics ♪ ♪ over seas, over land, on the web, on demand ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ operations worldwide, ups on your side ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ >> osgood: while plenty of people dabble with model trains, there's a man outside philadelphia who pursues his hobby with a one track mind. martha teichner has a ticket to ride. >> that is wonderful. >> it's astounding. >> it's mind boggling. >> reporter: one look will convince you that there is such a thing as a collecting gene. >> all of these trains were manufactured by a company called bing. >> reporter: and the jerry green inherited it. >> i believe they went in business around 1860 or 1856. >> reporter: and the little people in the dining car with their pretty dresses. for nearly 50 years green has been accumulating model train sets. >> i eventually collected every accessory and station that bing had made. >> reporter: that's how many pieces? >> over a thousand. >> reporter: oh, but there's more. lots more. >> this is a company called rock and granite that went into business in 1813. this was another german manufacturer earnest plank. this is the first elevated station. these stations are the rolls royce of the toy industry. they were all hand crafted. each one is different. they made over 150 stations. >> reporter: you have all 150? >> i have every station that they ever manufactured. probably one of my favorite stations. it has working fountains. a clock. >> reporter: it's a real clock. >> you wind it up. >> reporter: when green decided to sell the collection, it took his entire family three weeks to unpack and arrange what you see here. >> the greens kept bringing more and more boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes. >> reporter: david redden is vice chairman sotheby's. do you think it's the biggest train collection in the world? >> yes, i think it's the biggest train collection in the world. >> reporter: this is only a small portion of the collection. >> these are hornby made in england. >> reporter: jerry green bought his house outside philadelphia because it had a 5400 square foot basement. 80% of his collection is still here. >> catalogued in the collection, i came up with 27,000 different items. and i had thousands of figures on top of that. i'm an obsessive collector. >> reporter: his teen-aged obsession with record collecting even led to a career. his company oldies dot-com sells over half a million titles. the trains were for fun. but green never really played with them much. and he kept them a secret from other collectors. just quietly buying all of this one piece at a time. >> the excitement was in finding them. all the manufacturers have put out catalogues. i circle what i knee. when i got it, i would try to collect everything that these companies made. >> reporter: when he had just about every train linl ever made, he told them all and began acquiring these. opponent trains and accessories dating from about 1850 to the 1930s. here in miniature perfect replicas of a vanished age. tell me about those lamps. >> they were kerosene lamps. they would light up. >> reporter: you can really light them up? >> yes. that's the bridge from about 1908, 1909. it was designed by eiffel. >> reporter: eiffel as in the eiffel tower? >> yes. it was in germany up until the first world war. >> reporter: the real bridge is gone. the toy version remains. jerry green decided to sell the collection when he ran out of good pieces to buy. how much is it worth? >> well into eight figures. >> reporter: so that would be above $10 million. >> well above $10 million. >> reporter: sotheby's intends to sell everything to a single buyer. >> when we first came up to sotheby's the first day we wanted to get sleeping bags and sleep over because we couldn't imagine leaving it. because it's always been in our basement. >> reporter: jerry green's son michael collects nothing. but neither he nor his sisters can keep from fussing with the displays at sotheby's. they all admit they'll miss the trains. >> it's so much a part of our relationship with our father that it will be weird to not be there. >> reporter: but for jerry green himself, it's been there, done that. he's ready to move on. can you imagine spending the time and the money and the effort and so on and filling up these rooms all over again? >> absolutely. i'm a collector. >> osgood: coming up, ben stein's dream candidate. of a fundamental idea. it's where ethel percy andrus found a retired teacher living because she could afford nothing else. ethel couldn't ignore the clear need for health and financial security. and it inspired her to found aarp. for over 50 years, we've continued that work, to help all americans pursue their best life. discover more of what we do, for every generation at aarp.org. just shake it! [ rattling ] [ male announcer ] this week, go to staples.com/weeklyad for your coupon and save 15% off your entire in-store purchase, excluding all computers. that was easy. it's a bit early. january 2011 but already people are thinking about the presidential election of 2012. ben stein has an original idea for the republican candidate. >> as everyone knows, the grand old party has risen like a phoenix from the ashes of the 2008 defeat. the g.o.p. controls the house, had big gains in the senate, has a gigantic sloth of republican governors and is well liked in the polls. what we do not have a clearly viable candidate for president. huckabee, palin, romney, haley barbour who is my own favorite all have their pros and cons but none stands out as a clearly winning alternative to barack obama. but wait a minute. isn't there someone out there who is obama's equal in or er to charisma and ability to draw votes who could run as a republican? why, yes there is. barack obama his own self. yes, think about it. since the election of 2010 he's clearly moving in the direction of the republican party. he's completely signed on to the republican's position on tax cuts and kicking the deficit can down the road. long since he signed on to the bush position on the war in afghanistan. he's now swearing he'll do something about government spending even if it angers his most basic con sti yensy, the government employee union. his speech in tucson was a master piece of restrained eloquence. >> it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we're talking with each other in a way that heals. not in a way that wounds. >> reporter: now admittedly he has a lot to learn in the right to life world and about the environment. but he's a fast learner. there's been loud murmuring from the democratic left that president obama is too cozy with the republicans. a loud mouth from florida, former liberal representative alan grayson, has suggested he might challenge mr. obama from the left for the presidential nomination. fine and dandy. let the democrats have mr. grayson. he's a great guy. let us republicans seize this moment to humbly ask the best campaigner since reagan if he would care to join up with our side. the winning side. he's highly teachable. a sensible guy. and is probably as good as we can get right now. the worst he can do is say no. and then we can brag about our efforts at bipartisanship for the next 100 years. barack obama, first man to be elected president from both parties. what's not to like? >> osgood: commentary from ben stein. before we head outdoors let's check in with bob schieffer in washington for a look at what's ahead on face the nation. good morning, bob. >> schieffer: good morning, charles. we'll talk to john mccain and chuck schumer about is washington changing? but i don't think as much as ben stein is suggesting. >> osgood: thank you, bob. we'll be watching. and next week here on sunday morning, actor jeffrey rush and a closer look at stuttering. and i wondered what it was. i found out that connected to our muscles are nerves that send messages through the body. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia, thought to be the result of overactive nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. and less pain means i can do more with the ones i love. 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[ female announcer ] lean cuisine has 90 dishes with no preservatives and quality ingredients like farm-picked broccoli and tender white meat chicken. lean cuisine. sunday morning's moment of nature is sponsored by... >> osgood: we leave you this sunday morning in south texas. a home for white tailed deer. >> osgood: i'm charles osgood. please join us again next sunday morning. until then i'll see you on the radio. sometimes life can be, well, a little uncomfortable, but when it's hard or hurts to go to the bathroom, there's dulcolax stool softener. dulcolax stool softener doesn't make you go... it just makes it easier to go. dulcolax stool softener. make yourself comfortable. captioning made possible by johnson & johnson, where quality products for the american family have been a tradition for generations ,,,,,,