I defend myself by improving myself.

Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.

So it's been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.

My mother was the most amazing person. She taught me to be kind to other women. She believed in family. She was with my father from the first day they met. All that I am, she taught me.

A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.

So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.

Mine was an easy ride compared to Jackie Robinson's.