I'd go down to the end of my street to a garage that had a certain feeling about it or a particular light I'd take a picture of a friend who needed a head shot. That's how I learned instead of having school assignments and learning camera techniques.

In the military I learned that 'leadership' means raising your hand and volunteering for the tough important assignments.

While F.D.R. once told Americans that we have nothing to fear but fear itself Mr. Ashcroft is delighted to play the part of Fear Itself an assignment in which he lets his imagination run riot.

It was so much fun to have the freedom to wander America with no assignments. For 25 or 30 years I never had an assignment. These were all stories I wanted to do myself.

When I enrolled in college at age 19 I had a total of eight years of formal classroom education. As a result I was not comfortable with formal lectures and receiving regular homework assignments.

By far my most perilous assignment was covering a tank car explosion.

Never refuse an assignment except when there is a conflict of interest a potential of danger to you or your family or you hold a strongly biased attitude about the subject under focus.