I write in a rush of memory.

Maybe I would have become an actor. I was a very outgoing kid, but being in the hospital - being outside of social action for so long - turned me into an observer. Actually, right after I got out of the hospital, I did start writing a novel, but the book was so transparently about me that I stopped.

Now I'm trying to work outside first person. I do plan to write more books.

Your roots, your family, your friends all become so much more important to you as you get older, especially if you are a wandering minstrel like me.

My wife is the boss at home, and my daughters are the bosses. I am just the worker. We are a very warm family and very happy.

While health reform is a worthy goal, we shouldn't pay for it by taxing those who already have high medical costs because they or someone in their family has a disability.

In the early '80s, my family vacationed to the United States.