I Was A Straight-a Student, Baby!

And, Because Of The Life That I Shared With These Two Amazing Women [her Mother And Maternal Grandmother] And The Hardships And Struggles That I Saw Them Overcome, I Learned An Invaluable Lesson, And That Is That Women Can Do Anything We Set Our Minds To... And Then Some!

There Are So Many Difficult Things We're Living Through In The World Today, So Many Horrible Events, But We Cannot Let Them Stop Us. No Matter What Happens, I Feel You Must Move Forward With Optimism And Not Get Totally Sideswiped.

She [then Nine-year-old Daughter Emily] Grew Up With 'the Rhythm Is Gonna Get You,' Well . . . It Got Her!

I Bit Down Three Nails Rooting For The Heat.

My Grandmother Would Shanghai Pilots At The Havana Airport So They'd Bring Me Cartons Of Mango Baby Food - The Only Kind I'd Eat. I Learned To Eat Peach Later. And In Every Carton, She'd Slip A Cuban Record.