I thought I'm going to die. So why can't I do everything? And what is this idea that I worked all day yesterday, so I'm tired today? I've never believed that.I thought, "Just suppose I could choreograph a ballet." And I did it. Suppose I could teach dance at the theater in Cleveland. And I did it. Suppose I could sing for a living - that I could stop these two jobs as a waitress and a salesperson.

Nothing hurts more than realizing they meant everything to you, but you meant nothing to them.

There's racism and sexism and ageism and all sorts of idiocies. But bad news is not news. We've had bad news as a species for a long time. We've had slavery and human sacrifice and the holocaust and brutalities of such measure.

The problem I have with haters is that they see my glory, but they don't know my story.

All riddles are blues, / And all blues are sad, / And I'm only mentioning / Some blues I've had.

You don't need another person, place or thing to make you whole. God already did that. Your job is to know it.

Loving someone liberates the lover as well as the beloved. And that kind of love comes with age.