I wasn't a very discriminating reader. I read just about everything that came along.

There is melancholy in the wind and sorrow in the grass

It takes an earthquake to remind us that we walk on the crust of an unfinished planet.

Look for joy in your life; it's not always easy to find.

The everyday kindness of the back roads more than makes up for the acts of greed in the headlines.

I could tell you which writer's rhythms I am imitating. It's not exactly plagiarism, it's falling in love with good language and trying to imitate it.

Now that I look back on it, having retired from being a reporter, it was kind of romantic. It was a wonderful way to live one's life, just as I imagined it would be when I was 6 or 7.