* Education may not pay well but is richly rewarding.

* You can survive jumping out of an airplane at an advanced age and altitude – literally and metaphorically.

* I’ve experienced many marriages over 32 years, and all with the same person.

* In the end, nothing matters as much as caring about people and other living things.

* Music is all important.

* The first kiss will always be the sweetest.

* You may be alone, but never lonely, if you have a book in hand.

* I’ve actually learned the importance of cheerleading.

* I’ve ended up living in the Southwest, but value my interior Midwestern-ness.

*Children’s opinions matter.

* We’re all Richard Cory’s – with an interior that holds struggles that the exterior sometimes hides.

* Don’t envy – everybody hurts, everybody struggles.

* Words matter – they can haunt or inspire.

* Silence can foster discovery, or the more tragic misunderstanding.

* All of us are snobs about something.

* Treasure and learn from each new acquaintance. You will learn more than you expect from the encounters.

* Never underestimate people.

* I’m surprised that this young woman looks in the mirror to see such an old face.

* In my life-long longing for roots, I’ve learned that being near significant people is more important.

* Joy needs to be fostered – dancers stay younger.

* Words can inspire and enlighten or obscure and deceive.

* Words can’t teach the most important stuff to know.

* I haven’t always gotten what I wanted, but have gotten what I needed – how fortunate I am.

* How very different we all are, and how alike.

* Laugh, dance, sing.

* It’s never a waste of time to watch kittens play.

* In life we are born to a certain time and place and circumstances . . . but we can still invent ourselves, define ourselves, by our choices, attitudes, and actions. (It’s a compensation for our increasing aches and pains.)

*I’m still not done inventing me.