One association with the arts that I vividly remember was a magazine called Normal Instructor, a teachers' magazine, that Miss George would hold up with illustrations of great artworks like [Vincent] van Gogh and Rembrandt [van Rijn].

At school there were some programs in music. I did take piano lessons, and we had a piano at home. I got very interested in that.

Christianity began in Palestine as an experience, it moved to Greece and became a philosophy, it moved to Italy and became an institution, it moved to Europe and became a culture, and it moved to America and became a business! We've left the experience long behind.

There's always an important person who helps support your interests and encourages you.

Don't dress for fashion, dress for yourself

Fortunately, I had cousins who lived in Buffalo and would often go to visit them, which I loved to do because I liked Buffalo as it was a big city. Even today, the bigger the city, the better.

Upon graduation, in the yearbook I was voted "Most likely to succeed." which I know was credited to my artistic achievements.