I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.

I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.

Laugh...It's the sweetest thing one can do for oneself and one's fellow human beings.

My grandmother told me that every good thing I do helps some human being in the world. I believed her 50 years ago and still do.

I make writing as much a part of my life as I do eating or listening to music.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.

I've read everything Thomas Wolfe ever wrote; my brother and I memorized whole chapters of 'You Can't Go Home Again' and 'Look Homeward, Angel.'