Erma and I are the proud great-grandparents of little Caroline Byrd Fatemi (left) and Kathryn James Fatemi.  Our other great-granddaughter is Emma James Clarkson.

My wife, Erma, often visited my Capitol office. On this occasion, she brought our dog, Trouble, along for the ride. Erma will always be the greatest love of my life.

Senate Historian Dr. Richard Baker shows members of my staff and me a book found during the construction of the Capitol Visitors Center.  The book recorded the payroll of the Senate from 1790 through 1881 and contains the signatures of the first three vice presidents of the United States.

I recently sat with Cleo from the PBS television show, "Between the Lions," to encourage children to read.

As President Pro Tempore of the Senate, I presided over a special joint session of Congress in October 2001 as President Bush outlined for the nation his plan to fight terrorism.

My natural mother, Ada Kirby Sale, died of the influenza pandemic of 1918 when I was just one year old.

The man who raised me, Titus Dalton Byrd, was a coal miner who worked in mines throughout Southern West Virginia.  He and his wife, who was my natural father's sister, always stressed hard work and instilled in me a life-long desire to learn.

When I was a young boy growing up in the West Virginia coalfields, I learned how to play the fiddle.  I kept playing for many years, and even recorded my own album when I was in the Senate.

After a decade of night classes and Congressional sessions, I finally earned my law degree from American University in 1963.  President John F. Kennedy presented me with my diploma.