A line from one of my 1997 columns - 'Do one thing every day that scares you' - is now widely attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, though I have yet to see any evidence that she ever said it and I don't believe she did. She said some things about fear, but not that thing.

The movies we love and admire are to some extent a function of who we are when we see them.

Thanksgiving without tension is like a Thanksgiving without turkey. It can be done, but it is not the norm.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.

One thing you might want to learn before you attend the world's largest ukulele lesson is how to say ukulele.

Families are ecosystems. Each life grows in response to the lives around it

Books are like blankets, the mere sight of them around the house provides warmth and comfort. They are like mirrors, too, reflecting places I've been, phases I've been through, people I've loved or thought I did.