Once you appreciate one of your blessings, one of your senses, your sense of hearing, then you begin to respect the sense of seeing and touching and tasting, you learn to respect all the senses.

It's hard because people think they have something to lose and the truth is they have everything to gain in trying to love somebody.

Love is many things. It is varied. One thing love is not, is unsure.

We do the best we can with what we know, and when we know better, we do better.

The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you - black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.

The ship of my life may or may not be sailing on calm and amiable seas. The challenging days of my existence may or may not be bright and promising. Stormy or sunny days, glorious or lonely nights, I maintain an attitude of gratitude. If I insist on being pessimistic, there is always tomorrow. Today I am blessed.

At one time, you could sit on the Rue de la Paix in Paris or at the Habima Theater in Tel Aviv or in Medina and you could see a person come in, black, white, it didn't matter. You said, 'That's an American' because there's a readiness to smile and to talk to people.