It's really important to me to promote worthy causes. But not in a heavy, obligatory, responsibility way. I really admired that as a kid, learning about the 'Elton John AIDS Foundation.' And I was obsessed with The Indigo Girls. And they are the consummate activist group, always reaching out, especially to Native causes and things like that.

Colorado is an oasis, an otherworldly mountain place. I've played so many shows in Colorado that I think I'm the Colorado house band.

There are still civil rights issues. There are still people who can't be visited by their spouse in the hospital because they're gay. These are humanitarian issues. At the end of the day, all you want is for people to be happy in the pursuit of life, love and liberty.

I hope that somewhere in Small Town, U.S.A., a 15-year-old kid looks to me as a role model the way I looked at the Indigo Girls and Elton John as role models.

I had family and friends back home. Just because I could potentially feel alone in Los Angeles, that didn't mean I was alone.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of family encouragement - not just for me, but for everyone.

Safe Routes to School is one with great potential to get children walking and biking to school again. The program uses federal grants to make road and sidewalk repairs aimed at getting kids to school safely on foot or bicycle. The money also supports efforts to get the community, school officials and others involved.

I really love my family and kid, but first of all, it's my hockey, my career. My family is second, and my fans go third. Sometimes my fans go second, and my family is third. It's turning all the time.