Joss is a huge advocate for shelter dogs and it's not just talk. This year, despite an incredibly hectic schedule, she went out of her way to help the dogs of Katrina and Wilma.

Days like this are important because we have a sense of community as well as teaching our children about honorable people who have set good examples.

Many parks in Florida have information kiosks with colorful enamel signs showing the special flora and fauna in the park. The gopher tortoise, the scrub jay, the indigo snake. At no park with an indigo snake on its kiosk signs could I find an indigo.

I don't write with a scheme or a plan. I write word to word, so whatever that first sentence is, having said that, one more or less had to say what comes next and next and next. Guilty of no cogitation or forethought.

Military brats have this toughness: they're almost like orphans or foster children; they develop little mechanisms. It sets you up to look at things a little differently.

He could have been a much more wealthy person had he not been in public service.