I have an obligation to use what I know to try to bring real, usable medical science to every doctor and bedside and patient.

I think, in picking a doctor, you should focus less on the degree and more on their knowledge, bedside manner, communication, and patients' experiences.

Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist - because every day Dad gave Mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died - she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose.

Throughout my career as a lawyer, teacher and labor leader, books have remained my constant companion - stuffed into a briefcase, overflowing on my bedside table, stacked on my desk at work. Books have carried me to distant worlds, opened new doors and made me feel empathy, compassion, anger, fear, joy, acceptance - and everything in between.

Ideas are elusive slippery things. Best to keep a pad of paper and a pencil at your bedside so you can stab them during the night before they get away.

Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was you could have asked the local florist - because every day Dad gave Mom a rose which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died - she went looking for him because that morning there was no rose.