I sing yes sure and I garden, I have a large garden and I really recreate myself by doing gardening and thinking about something else so that when your mind gets free from all the burden of the daily troubles and then you can start putting something fresh in, you know.

I act like a hopeful person, but I think that hope is based on having zero expectations.

It's not possible to get any distance from my project: being alive. Objectively, from the outside you might say, my life is terrible, unbelievable. And it's true, I hate this. I hate the way I am at the moment. But there is no objective view, I am here, in it, and there is nothing else, and this fact brings with it many things that make it of course easier. And beyond that there are many other things to think about.

I don’t believe I can really do without teaching.  The reason is, I have to have something so that when I don’t have any ideas and I’m not getting anywhere I can say to myself, “At least I’m living; at least I’m doing something; I’m making some contribution”—it’s just psychological.

You have to make sacrifices on either side. You also to have an understanding family, to know that there are going to be some sacrifices.

One person that is my role model is my father. ... He’s a man who taught me something very important. And that was — give back to society what you’ve taken out.

So, it was hard to fathom letting go. Age was part of the reason. We were both 77 at that time.

There's still much to do, and I'm not slowing down.

My father tried to make me think twice. "Son, calm down," he said. "Stick it out."

I’m very proud of that and I started a drug and substance abuse program in middle schools in New York to help the worst performing schools.