The failures and successes are necessary for learning.

The love of these people and of my fans mean more than any award or special accomplishment.

There's a place for all types of country music as long as there is honesty and realness and a real human experience for the fans.

We are losing our superstars like Johnny and June Carter Cash and that breaks my heart.

Without the way, there is no going; without the truth, there is no knowing; without the life, there is no living.

Making a difference - and allowing God to use your gifts to change someone else's life - is truly the greatest joy you will ever experience.

Most of my job life has had to do with welfare, first helping people find work and then as an administrator. The earlier experience was more direct and satisfying, and I enjoy thinking that a bunch of people somewhere are doing better today than they might have done if not for me.

I'm not really quiet or shy. Ask any of my friends! But I always ground my poetry in life itself. Poetry is an art of language, though, so I am always aware of every word's meaning, or multiple meanings.