On 9/11, that morning, I was in a Christian Dior Couture appointment at the Hotel Pierre.

The happiest moments of my childhood were spent on my grandmother's front porch in Durham, N.C., or at her sister's farmhouse in Orange County, where chickens paraded outside the kitchen's screen door and hams were cured in the smokehouse.

When I was a young boy, growing up in Durham, North Carolina, the women in my family were truly passionate about their clothes; nothing was more beautiful to me than women dressing with the utmost, meticulous attention to accessories, shoes, handbags, hats, coats, dresses and gloves to attend Sunday church services.

Luxury is...to be able to take control of one's life, health, and the pursuit of happiness in a way that is joyful.

Some days are good; some days are not so good. Some days are really exciting. Some days are just tedious. You just have to get up out of bed.

On 9/11, that morning, I was in a Christian Dior Couture appointment at the Hotel Pierre.

Mrs. Obama has a hug - a sincere and friendly embrace - that has become familiar to countless supporters from coast to coast. And when she talks to you, she focuses all her calm attention on your face.