My dad was enlisted in the Navy; my mother was a nurse. It just was never a thought process. It was just go to the best school you can go to, do the best you possibly can do, and be the best person you can possibly be, and I think our faith had a lot to do with that.

I think Ronald Reagan was one of the great presidents, period, not just recently. I thought he had the demeanor. I thought he had the bearing. I thought he had the thought process.

When you look at a movie, you look at a director's thought process.

I let previous instances creep up in my thought process sometimes. I think that's where things go awry, and that's where the walks come in. I'm not giving up many hits, just putting them on base for free.

My dad was in the Navy, and I was raised with a strong commitment to service.

I always thought I'd write about my dad, at some point, ... I didn't think it would be like this, but it arrived like this. I'd been listening to a lot of Garrison Keillor at the time. I love that simple story that ends on a grace note and you go, 'Wow, I'm just happy to be alive right now.' That was the feeling I was chasing.