You know, most reporters can't go back to the towns they wrote stories about. I never wrote that kind of story.

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 had a tight stomach all the time. I actually developed ulcers. I've learned better than to put all that internal pressure on myself.

The love of family and the admiration of friends is much more important than wealth and privilege.

There is such a thing as a national conscience, and it can be touched.

It was cold out there, bitter, biting, cutting, piercing, hyperborean, marmoreal cold, and there were all these Minnesotans running around outdoors, happy as lambs in the spring.

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.