Saving was slow and painful.

My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.

Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.

I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.

With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.

Saving was slow and painful.

Nature was my kindergarten.

Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed.

I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.

Whenever I heard the song of a bird and the answering call of its mate, I could visualize the notes in scale, all built up within my consciousness as a natural symphony.

You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.

Life is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in, you won't get anything out.

The name of my ailment was longing, and it was not cured till I finally went to the department store and counted out the money in small coins before the dismayed clerk. When I came to the house, I held up the instrument before the eyes of the astonished household.

The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day.

The blues the sound of a sinner on revival day.

We've lost our city. I fear it's potentially like Pompeii.

He took me down and out into the afterlife of the brightly lit streets, a haze of rain around each streetlight like a galaxy, the whole street a universe spread out like a banquet.

It is the public that is illiterate in science and math, a lazy press, and environmental advocacy groups that manufacture fear for misconceptions about energy.

I don't like narrowing my readers down - there's not a particular age or gender or nationality. I suppose I'm aiming at the child I was.

I don't think there is anything wrong with cosmetic surgery at all. I think it's great. But I don't think it's alright to distort yourself.

I was cast in 'Thor' back in 2009, so it sort of took me out of the running for anything tied to DC Comics.

I love to play horrible, evil, mean people.

Once the fabric of a just society is undone, it takes generations to weave it back together.

The days are long, but the years are short.

I think exercise tests us in so many ways, our skills, our hearts, our ability to bounce back after setbacks. This is the inner beauty of sports and competition, and it can serve us all well as adult athletes.

As a kid, I was growing up in an era of celebration of the Civil War centennial, with a lot of 'Lost Cause' emphasis on the Confederacy. I used to play Civil War soldiers with my brothers as a child, and my older brother always insisted that he got to be Lee, and I got be Grant. I never knew that Grant won until quite some time had passed.

Kids are a huge sacrifice; they change everything - but I'm ready to work for things of greater importance than going out to meet someone for dinner at 10 o'clock at night.

Dressing well is a form of good manners.

We can be critical of the things that we love. That is possible.

Beauty is not the cause of something, it is what it is.

I think the best time to approach a woman is actually after her workout. When you're working out, you're playing your jam, you're in the groove, and you don't want to be interrupted. So guys, wait until she's done getting her sweat on.

The reality in Iraq is that we are creating new terrorists and severely damaging the public impression of the United States in the Muslim world.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, warned Facebook of the need for consumer protection and an open Internet, and according to 'The Wall Street Journal,' Thune has sent a letter to Zuckerberg asking how the company chooses its trending topics and who is ultimately responsible.

The WWE is based on, I think, reaction. You know, if you can't get a reaction, that means you can't put butts in the seats.

When I'm around the kids I feel like I act the most grown-up just because you're supposed to. And I say things, like every other day, that remind me of my own parents.

We learn from our gardens to deal with the most urgent question of the time: How much is enough?

I'm human, just like anybody else.

If you cannot smile when you listen to music, then do not listen to it!

It is the knowledge that all men have weaknesses and that many have vices that makes government necessary.