I have come to regard November as the older, harder man's October. I appreciate the early darkness and cooler temperatures. It puts my mind in a different place than October. It is a month for a quieter, slightly more subdued celebration of summer's death as winter tightens its grip.

It is possible for the assembly-line worker consigned to tightening the bolts on the transmission and the office worker who processes medical insurance claims to work with pride and efficiency, but it's not easy to maintain that attitude.

I realized that the good stories were affecting the organs of my body in various ways, and the really good ones were stimulating more than one organ. An effective story grabs your gut, tightens your throat, makes your heart race and your lungs pump, brings tears to your eyes or an explosion of laughter to your lips.

Butch tightened his grip on his cell and wished there were an app that let you reach through a phone and bitch slap someone.

Again the American people expect us to do what they are doing. It's tightening the belt it's learning how to do more with less. That's a reality today and we've got to do that in order to get the private sector growing.

I started walking at night with my sister in law which has been amazing. It really does something for you. It just kind of clears the mind it just makes you feel better things start to tighten a little bit.