“Mom and Dad even took in foster children. ‘There are no limits to how much you can love,’ Dad always said.”

I have been blessed with working with the best in the business.

I was the oldest of six, and three of my siblings were adopted.

Watching the scenes out of New Orleans, if you turn down the sound it could be the Sudan or any Third World country. But it’s not. it’s the United States of America.

If I was having a bad day, eating was like self-medicating. But if you abuse food, you still have to use that substance that you abuse every day.

My first college roommate greeted me with a shocked silence followed by, ‘So. . .you’re black.

I don’t make plans, because life is short and unpredictable – much like the weather!

You don’t have to try to impress your kids. If they’re not getting what they need from you, they will let you know.

We already had an adopted daughter, 10-year-old Courtney, from my previous marriage.

My own childhood showed me that when it comes to loving your kids, concepts like that don’t apply.

Exercising is what I need for my metabolism and for a better sense of well-being.

I couldn’t wait for Courtney to come to the hospital so I could have all my women together.

There is no quick fix. At the end of the day, you still have to do the work to maintain your weight. It can’t be a diet. You have to change your life.

They wrapped her up like a baby burrito to show to Mom. Here were a mother and her daughter and I love them both so much.

You have to learn to use it responsibly.

And I love doing this thing, and they will have to blow me out of here with dynamite before I leave.

I also want them to know that being successful is not the real world – that their parents get treated better because they’re on TV.

So I was always around music and my dad was in his own way a progressive jazzer, a big band jazzer guy.

I heard a rumor that your mom and dad ran away from home.

I think when you are the parents of a gifted athlete, the best thing in the world you can do is to encourage them, in my opinion. My dad didn’t push me and I didn’t push my children in athletics.

[I did impressions] of relatives because I heard so many different sounds. My dad was in the music business and of course my uncle was a giant [music producer], but my dad in particular had the house filled with these Dixieland jazz stars.

My engineer dad is where my technical acumen comes from. I remember him taking me to the factories to see how what works.

[Calvin, who has the chicken pox, calls Susie on the telephone.] Susie: Hello? Calvin: Hi, Susie! It’s me, Calvin! I was wondering if you’d like to come over and play. Susie: Why, sure! Boy,

When I was around 7 or 8 my Dad took me to a B.B. King recording session, well, that really did it. Huge and lasting impressions.

Hello Dad! It is now three in the morning. Do you know where I am?