I’ve got a magic charm That I keep up my sleeve, I can walk the ocean floor And never have to breathe.

I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.

The question is not how to survive, but how to thrive with passion, compassion, humor and style.

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave. I rise. I rise. I rise.

I think that that's the wisest thing - to prevent illness before we try to cure something.

I'm happy to be a writer - of prose, poetry, every kind of writing. Every person in the world who isn't a recluse, hermit or mute uses words. I know of no other art form that we always use.

I also wear a hat or a very tightly pulled head tie when I write. I suppose I hope by doing that I will keep my brains from seeping out of my scalp and running in great gray blobs down my neck, into my ears, and over my face.