Aretha can sing. You already knew that. This is one of those few times that a label really means something...The Queen of Soul. I do like Queens. I like Queens with style and Aretha does have style. The first time I heard Chain of Fools I knew. Today, when times are tough or when times are good I listen to her.

One of the best scenes in movie history is Aretha singing Think! in the Diner in Blues Brothers. What's better than that scene?

I rode an elevator with Aretha in Washington, DC at the Willard Hotel January 19, 1993. I was working on the Presidential Inaugural Committee and had found out that was where she would be. I was staying there too for Inaugural Week. When I told my then boyfriend David about it, I remarked that seeing her in the hotel would be enough for me. Didn't care who else was around. We were in the elevator on the way to the Gala when we stopped after two floors. In walked a couple of people including a woman in a huge fur coat. It was Aretha. I went numb. I went mute. I just grinned. I never said a word. It was enough. Life was complete.

On a trip to see my nephew and niece I discovered that their parents had neglected to expose them to Aretha. It was up to me as it often is to show them what is cool. I played Aretha for them, loud. Later on Molly, who is seven, was walking around the house singing "R E S P E C T...Find out what it means to me". What's better than passing on favorites to kids?

Molly is in second grade and has to write a report on a famous person. She chose Aretha Franklin. Never was any doubt in her mind.