You know, it's been proven that 35 to 40 hours a year with one-on-one attention, a student can get one grade level higher

You can't ever guess at life, at pain. All pain is real, and all pain is personal. It's the most personal thing we have. It eats each of us differently.

You have what I can afford to give. You are a panhandler, begging for anything, and I am the man walking briskly by, tossing a quarter or so into your paper cup. I can afford to give you this. This does not break me.

There is no faith like the faith of a builder of homes in coastal Louisiana

When I'm doing work online or on the computer, it's one thing. When I want to read, I want to go elsewhere, and I want to be away from the screen.

I see colors like you hear jet planes.

When you adapt a book, you really have to cut it to the essence.