My doctor told me that I really should lose some weight. "You're mildly obese," he said. And I thought, "Well, who couldn't afford to lose 20 or 30 pounds?" He said, "Well, a person in your category." I said, "What is that category, doctor?" He said, "Well, you're what I call upwardly middle aged." And I said, "I forgive you for everything."

I speak a number of languages, but none are more beautiful to me than English.

Be present in all things and thankful for all things.

Christians already? It seems to me that it takes a lifetime of work.

The needs of a society determine its ethics.

When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.

My people had used music to soothe slavery's torment or to propitiate God, or to describe the sweetness of love and the distress of lovelessness, but I knew no race could sing and dance its way to freedom.