My grandmother had six kids - one died as an infant - and she was dirt-poor and all her kids got an education. And my mom grew up poor. And they both worked so hard and cultivated so much of their own happiness. I wanted to have that like an amulet. Not like armor but like a magic feather. Like Dumbo's magic feather.

The word 'good' has many meanings. For example if a man were to shoot his grandmother at a range of five hundred yards I should call him a good shot but not necessarily a good man.

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now and we don't know where the hell she is.

My view is that good community management is like having good municipal government: You should be able to have dissenting opinions and so on freedom of speech but your grandmother should also be able to walk down the street at night without having to worry about getting mugged.

You don't have to look far to taste some of the best food the world has to offer. I'd pit my grandmother against a 3-star Michelin chef any day.

My grandmother was the greatest cook in the world. She could just go in there the whole kitchen would look like a tornado hit it and then she'd come out with the best food. Then she'd sit at the table and she wouldn't eat!

Of course I will continue to share my favorite Southern recipes just like my mama grandmother and family shared with me over the years. And now I'll be adding a little bit of a lighter touch to some of these wonderful dishes.

My worst hair experience was when I was trying to relax my hair and my grandmother did it. It went all straight and I looked like a black Bee Gee.

Today there are people trying to take away rights that our mothers grandmothers and great-grandmothers fought for: our right to vote our right to choose affordable quality education equal pay access to health care. We the people can't let that happen.

My grandfather could barely read. My grandmother had a sixth-grade education. They were people who were industrious. They were frugal.

My grandmother lived to be 100 years old. Her grandmother was a slave yet she was a college graduate in the Spellman class of 1917. She taught art for 50 years and she saved her Social Security checks for her children's education.

I think the way we talk about cancer has really evolved. I remember the way my grandmother used to talk about it like a death sentence no-one would even mention the word.

My grandmother was an actress too. In the thirties and forties she was under contract with Universal Studios. Crazy credits lots of them. My dad was also under contract with Universal Studios. And my first film was shot on the same stage they both worked on at Universal.

My dad was born in Chicago in 1908... his parents came from Russia. They settled in Chicago where they lived in a little tiny grocery store with eight or nine children - in the backroom all together - and my grandmother got the idea to go into the movie business.

Many forms sizes and colors I think there are heroes in sports in life... It would be cliche to say my dad my granddad. I think I'm a fan of people who were brave my aunt my grandmother those are my heroes.

My dad was in the army. World War II. He got his college education from the army. After World War II he became an insurance salesman. Really I didn't know my dad very well. He and my mother split up after the war. I was raised by my maternal grandmother and grandfather and by my mother.

And I love that even in the toughest moments when we're all sweating it - when we're worried that the bill won't pass and it seems like all is lost - Barack never lets himself get distracted by the chatter and the noise. Just like his grandmother he just keeps getting up and moving forward... with patience and wisdom and courage and grace.

We all grew up our grandmothers and mothers had about three channels to watch so we watched those soaps and now a generation has grown up with the Internet and computers and video games.

Wigs have always been a part of my life and have become a staple accessory in my closet. I can remember being a little girl and hearing all the commotion in my house from my mom aunts and grandmother when picking out their wigs for the day. It was such a good time for them and part of their everyday beauty routine.

My grandmother is this amazingly theatrical woman. She acted like a movie star as far as looks and attitude kind of like Susan Hayward.

I seriously love to cook... My grandmother was an amazing cook. As a kid I used to help her make handmade pasta Cavatelli and Ravioli. It was one of my favorite things to do. I love the idea of making whatever is in the fridge into something.

I'd love to own a bakery at some point. My grandmother could help me run it - she is an amazing baker! I'd also love to do a cookbook.

In truth I am a single mother. But I don't feel alone at all in parenting my daughter. Krishna has a whole other side of her family who loves her too. And so Krishna is parented by me but also by her grandmother and aunts and cousins and uncles and friends.

I am a grandmother now and that means age is creeping on creeping on.