And I said, 'That last thing is what you can't get, Carlo. Nobody can get to that last thing. We keep on living in hopes of catching it once and for all.

But why think about that when all the golden lands ahead of you and all kinds of unforseen events wait lurking to surprise you and make you glad you're alive to see?

I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.

This is the story of America. Everybody's doing what they think they're supposed to do.

I was suddenly left with nothing in my hands but a handful of crazy stars.

There was nothing to talk about anymore. The only thing to do was go.

We wandered in a frenzy and a dream (301).

Hell man, I know very well you didn't come to me only to want to become a writer, and after all what do I really know about it except that you've got to stick to it with the energy of a benny addict.

...but I preferred reading the American landscape as we went along. Every bump, rise, and stretch in it mystified my longing.

I suddenly began to realize that everybody in America is a natural-born thief.

A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world.

Many people today don't want honest answers insofar as honest means unpleasant or disturbing. They want a soft answer that turneth away anxiety.

Self-assurance doesn't come from looking perfect and having a great title, but from accepting yourself with all you mistakes and eccentricities.

Your final goal is to convert your athletic swing to pure instinct rather than conscious thought.

Oh my god what am I doing with my life?

My old man is drunker than a barrel full of monkeys, but my old lady she don't care.

Instead of living in the sunshine of God's forgiveness through Christ, we tend to live under an overcast sky of guilt most of the time.

Life, a beauty chased by tragic laughter.

You should treat your marriage like a business that you wouldn't want to let fail.

There are some things I like about L.A. You can have a really healthy lifestyle, and I love running with the dogs on the beach. It's just the social scene is horrific!

He understood how dangerous oaths could be. But Leo didn't care. "I'm coming back for you, Calypso," he said to the night wind. "I swear it on the River Styx.