In my late 20s, my mother went to a flea market and bought three small birds, and I have been hooked ever since.

Over the years, I learned to just buy what I liked. It's not about buying something you think might be worth more money years down the road. If I like it, I buy it.

Yeah, I've been suckered and still am occasionally. But the only way to learn about these birds is by trial and error.

Basically, I was a kid growing up with a single mother in Brooklyn.

You know, for one glorious half hour, I was the mother of the president-elect.

My mother was a teacher, and when she wanted to show me art and literature and science, she'd take me to museums, parks and free exhibitions.