I spent many years trying to write a lot like Ben Folds or John Lennon or Rivers Cuomo. I think that's healthy when you're learning to write and seeing how chords fit together and how songs take shape.

For 'So Cold the River ' I'm actually working on adapting the book with Scott Silver who was just nominated for an Oscar for 'The Fighter ' and who also wrote '8 Mile ' which I think is a terrific screenplay. The chance to work with Scott is a tremendous pleasure and I'm learning a lot.

In the end my pursuit of the elusive New York State driver's license became about much more than a divorced woman's learning to drive for the first time.

After you start learning all about the mechanics of piloting a riverboat you stop seeing all the pretty sunsets and you start thinking about the weather.

If one morning I walked on top of the water across the Potomac River the headline that afternoon would read: 'President Can't Swim.'

They've got to tell us what is necessary to ensure the future health of the river system.

There are a range of associated impacts related to increasing temperatures which affect both evaporation rates and river systems which are already over stressed and these will hit farming communities and the health of crop lands.

As founder and co-chair of the upper Mississippi River Congressional task force I have long sought to preserve the river's health and historical multiple uses including as a natural waterway and a home to wildlife for the benefit of future generations of Americans.

Finally the ecological health of the Mississippi River and its economic importance to the many people that make their living or seek their recreation is based on a healthy river system.

The truth is that relative income is not directly related to happiness. Nonpartisan social-survey data clearly show that the big driver of happiness is earned success: a person's belief that he has created value in his life or the life of others.