I always wondered what it was like to be just a normal kid growing up in trying times or during a great moment in history.

I loved to read, and if I could've been a professional reader, that's probably what I would've wanted to be!

My mother was a great advocate of women's rights, a member of the League of Women's Voters and lifelong member of Planned Parenthood and an advocate of a woman's rights in terms of reproductive issues. She was also a founding member of Common Cause in the state of Indiana.

In terms of the Japanese royal family, they were considered the direct descendants of a god. They are regarded as all-powerful and possessors of unimaginable wealth, and yet they are, more often than not, literally prisoners of tradition.

For the second straight year, craft beer is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. alcoholic beverage industry. In 2005, craft beer experienced a 9 percent increase in volume, nearly triple that of the growth experienced in the wine and spirits industry.

Chinese growth will either be strong or very strong. They have a voracious demand for energy that will only continue to grow. What they're doing... is looking at all forms of energy. They're going ahead very strongly with coal, nuclear, oil, natural gas.

Teens affect history. They affect lives; they affect our cultural growth and change, and yet, and at the same time, they are often the most vulnerable among us.

I was quite small; then I had a big growth spurt that led to a problem with my back, which stopped me playing for a while. My bones were growing too quick for my weight.