People don't want to be bothered, if they're not being pressured to change. You have to push people. You have to be the agitator that makes the pearl.

I am extremely grateful for two big gifts from my father. First, my sense of humor - the ability to see the humor in something while it is happening. That has cushioned my life. I am also grateful for the work of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. It has enriched my life and made me a very different person.

It's because it was at a time when women didn't have any power. It was so unusual for a young woman in her 20s to have power that I seized the power but tried not to flaunt it.

In my work, there's a tremendous amount of rejection and waves of fertile and fallow times.

A society is judged by the way it cares for its most vulnerable citizens. As an American, I am ashamed that we have turned out backs on millions of our children. I want to do my part to rectify this terrible situation.

People really want to do something good. You just have to show them where it is.

I was an educated girl. I'd done very well in school. I had a good point average and graduated from USC as an English teacher. My dad didn't even finish high school.