When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don't even notice.

I don't think I ever modeled myself after a singer. I've more or less copied the styles of horn-tooters right from the start.

One trouble with growing older is that it gets progressively tougher to find a famous historical figure who didn't amount to much when he was your age.

Nobody pays attention to the way a person's shirt folds around his shoulder when they sit down, but if that shirt folded in an unusual way, you'd notice it.

It was different. I was sure to notice when Coach Alvarez used to come and sit in on my meeting or when he was in my drills, so I was trying to be a little bit conscientious of that, especially the first two days, trying to let coaches establish how they go about their business. I was just trying to stay at a distance, look around and watch for the first few days.

What was the competition? Well, I remember this Puerto Rican who came out in a short skirt and a gun.