Whether you could do it all, and your fatherinlaw, martys father, was actually. You could tell the story better than i could. Tremendously supportive always. He said, ruth, if you dont want to go to law school, you have the best reason in the world and no one will think the less of you. But if you really want to go to law school and become a lawyer, well, stop feeling sorry for yourself, and you will find a way. That advice has stood me in good stead my entire life. The question is do i want this enough. If the answer is yes, i find a way. [ spectators murmur ] when you think about your life as a new yorker up until the time you went to washington, are there particular artists or political leaders or activists that influenced your thinking or who you are over the course of time . Well. The writers i think every girl of my age read and loved a tree grows in brooklyn. Mmhmm. Then there was that kind of risque, nastyboy book, j. D. Salingers catcher in the rye. [ laughter ] and another pe