"The solid, middle-class values of hard work, responsibility, family, community, and faith my father talked about tirelessly from Iowa to New York, he lived at home. The hopes he had for his family and for me, he had for all Americans. I think Americans understood this."

"My parents have been incredibly supportive from perhaps the first real independent decision I made to become a vegetarian at 11, which was certainly not consistent with their diet at the time."

"I hope to make a positive, productive contribution, as cheesy as that may sound."

"I had seen people who had lost everything and everyone they loved to war, famine, and natural disasters."

"A man should keep his little brain attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it."

"Do not wait for favorable winds; take the oars and row toward your horizon. Reflect upon this whenever doubt clouds your horizon — an essential principle for the reflective life."

"Individuals need to be willing to face truth about their attitudes, behaviors, even what we want out of life."

"Telegraphs are machines for conveying information over extensive lines with great rapidity."