“I get a choice every time I have to open my mouth: that it can be with civility and dignity and grace - or not.”

“Good governance, safety, a chance to grow economically and professionally - those are important things.”

“I was raised to believe that America was a force for good in the world and that it should take its leadership role seriously.”

“My great-grandmother lived to be 100 years old, so I got to know her. She always sent us birthday cards that had $2 bills inside - we kept them for good luck.”

“There is freedom in forgiveness, and it's not that hard to do once you get into the habit.”

“I've been in government and politics my entire career, and while I try to keep a level head and a reasonable tone in my commentary, even I can lose my head sometimes and let anger bubble over and b...”

“once sailed neither the ship nor the shore ever remains the same again.”

“We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.”

“One day spent with someone you love can change everything.”

“We tilt our heads back and open wide. The snow drifts into our zombie mouths crawling with grease and curses and tobacco flakes and cavities and boyfriend/girlfriend juice, the stain of lies. For o...”

“The teachers complain that the students today are all lazy, ignorant, and stupid. But the truth is that you're smarter than they are. You're not even old enough to drive and you already know that n...”

“I told her about school and how I sat on a wall there and felt stories and words move through me ...”

“But the huge bowl of the sky remains untracked: no zeppelins, no bombers, no superhuman paratroopers, just the last songbirds returning from their winter homes, and the quicksilver winds of spring ...”

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

“Spring is a sacred soul with a revive spirit.”