To read the papers and to listen to the news... one would think the country is in terrible trouble. You do not get that impression when you travel the back roads and the small towns do care about their country and wish it well.

I much preferred the peaceful life on the road, where I didn't have to ask embarrassing questions and do all the things real reporters have to do.

In television, everything is gone with the speed of light, literally. It is no field for anybody with intimations of immortality.

It's that enthusiasm, that passion for what you're doing, that is most important.

The first books I was interested in were all about baseball. But I can't think of one single book that changed my life in any way.

There are a lot of people who are doing wonderful things, quietly, with no motive of greed, or hostility toward other people, or delusions of superiority.

I believe that writing is derivative. I think good writing comes from good reading.