I grew up where my parents would literally shove me in the car rather than have to say hello to a neighbor.

When I was 15 my parents left town for a month. They hid the keys to the car but I found them. That month I drove my stepdad's Thunderbird Super Coupe into Manhattan every day and I would crank Cypress Hill as I flew around the city racing the taxis.

It wasn't a secret that I was gay. I'd come out to my parents during my junior year of high school on the day that I also wrecked the family car.

Acting advice is a bit like your parents teaching you how to drive a car. You know they're right but you still kind of want them to shut up a bit.

It was all that stuff about taking your parents' car when you're 13 sneaking booze into rock shows and ditching school with your friends. I could relate to that as a former teenager rather than as a present parent.

The courts cannot garnish a father's salary nor freeze his account nor seize his property on behalf of his children in our society. Apparently this is because a kid is not a car or a couch or a boat.

But I also like to shower my parents with presents. I bought them a beautiful car and a house.

I always loved music. You know my parents said I started singing when I was 4 in the car.

The biggest thrill a ballplayer can have is when your son takes after you. That happened when my Bobby was in his championship Little League game. He really showed me something. Struck out three times. Made an error that lost the game. Parents were throwing things at our car and swearing at us as we drove off. Gosh I was proud.

When you read about a car crash in which two or three youngsters are killed do you pause to dwell on the amount of love and treasure and patience parents poured into bodies no longer suitable for open caskets?

It just seemed too weird to me. I don't know maybe they were smoking a joint in the car downstairs from their parents' apartment. I had to go that far to put together a scenario of how they could have possibly recognized me.

Fact: The new '90210' is cooler than the old '90210.' It's the lithe streamlined Skipper to the elder series' venerable Barbie. Gone are the traditional parents - they've been replaced by a hipster mom n' pop who get busted necking in the car.

My parents were what I like to call proper musical fans. Lots of Sondheim was played in the car.

I think a lot of writers male and female write as if their parents were killed in a car accident when they were 2 and they have no one to hold accountable. And unfortunately I don't have that. I have parents who I care about what they think.

I know people think we drive around in these nice cars and we do whatever we want and our parents will pay our credit cards but that's not the case. Sure my parents were generous I got a nice car at 16 but at 18 I was cut off. I've worked really hard. I opened the store myself.

Although my family - parents and sister - all work in the personnel management business their real passion is performing amateur operatic societies and so on.

If you have a line of business - I know this as a CEO - or if you have a teenager - I know this as a parent - who have a spending problem what do you do? You quit giving them money.

Whatever I do it's my business. It's not my job to parent America.

It's time to fundamentally change the way that we do business in Washington. To help build a new foundation for the 21st century we need to reform our government so that it is more efficient more transparent and more creative. That will demand new thinking and a new sense of responsibility for every dollar that is spent.

My parents were dishonest people. If it was my birthday I knew my mother took me to the K-Mart and she stole my toy. She'd put it in the shopping cart and we'd walk out. I was raised with that.

One I built when I was a kid and it was a real miniature of Disneyland. I fell in love with the park when I went there with my parents on my 12th birthday.

I grew up doing all that stuff because I was obsessed with the '50s. I had sock hops for birthday parties. So I've always done The Twist and stuff. It was pretty natural and with my parents doing it all the time I'd just copy them. Not very pretty.

As I approach my 88th birthday it's become apparent to me that my eyes and ears among other appurtenances aren't quite what they used to be. The prospect of long flights to wherever in search of whatever are not quite as appealing.

It's odd the things that people remember. Parents will arrange a birthday party certain it will stick in your mind forever. You'll have a nice time then two years later you'll be like 'There was a pony there? Really? And a clown with one leg?'