It was an honor and privilege to arrive to this country 16 years ago with almost no money in my pocket. A lot has happened since then.
We're definitely a hodgepodge of influences. Mine most heavily would be Southern rock - the Allman Brothers Lynyrd Skynyrd and stuff like that. Hillary is more from the country side - her mom is Linda Davis a country singer. Dave he's a big fan of the Eagles and like that.
The military infrastructure grew me. My faith in God is important my belief in my country is important my relationship to my family is important the things that Mom and Dad tell you growing up are important.
We've got activists all across the country like the members of the Million Mom March organization some of their leaders are here tonight. We're phone banking congressional offices and pursuing editorial boards.
My mother and my grandmother are pioneers of Mexican cuisine in this country so I grew up in the kitchen. My mom Zarela Martinez was by far my biggest influence and inspiration - and toughest critic.
Some of the best times I've spent in Colorado have been in the backcountry with my mom and siblings and more recently with my own kids. That is why I'm concerned to see today's kids spending more time browsing the Internet than exploring nature.
I'm from Tennessee. My mom lives in Nashville. I'm born and bred country. That's all I listen to.
Country was about character. Country's changed because of monsters like Clear Channel who bought up all the stations and sliced them up into formats. Our demographic is now the soccer mom.
My mom and I used to listen to records read and take train rides across the country in the summer. It was a very chill life. She didn't expose me to anything that was ahead of my development but she expected me to adjust to her world - she did not expect to adjust to mine.
It's the moms of this nation - single married widowed - who really hold this country together. We're the mothers we're the wives we're the grandmothers we're the big sisters we're the little sisters we're the daughters. You know it's true don't you? You're the ones who always have to do a little more.