An old man drinks tea and reads the newspaper--forgetting age for a moment.

Pain narrows consciousness; pleasure blurs it.

When Medusa looks in the mirror, she sees the Lady of Sorrows.

My passions have never jumped out of the fireplace and set fire to the carpet.

Retirement requires the invention of a new hedonism, not a return to the hedonism of youth

The sewing machine joins what the scissors have cut asunder, plus whatever else comes in its path.

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story.

The laughter of the aphorism is sometimes triumphant, but seldom carefree.

'Be faithful to your roots' is the liberal version of 'Stay in your ghetto.'

Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed.

Totem poles and wooden masks no longer suggest tribal villages but fashionable drawing rooms in New York and Paris.

I do not expect old heads on young shoulders.

The act of seeking is essential to life.

The crown of literature is poetry.

Everyone can afford to give away a smile.

I headline concert halls for 20,000 people, but I still play smaller venues.

Creating your own reality is the richest gift you received at birth.

If you don't have the best people you hurt everyone.

ONE THING I AM NEVER GOING TO DO WHEN I GROW UP Is fall in love, drop out of college, learn to subsist on water and air, have a species named after me, and ruin my life.

Pointless. . . . Like giving caviar to an elephant.