Sometimes I think I've figured out some order in the universe, but then I find myself in Florida

Orchid hunting is a mortal occupation.

I think of myself as something of a connoisseur of procrastination, creative and dogged in my approach to not getting things done.

Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things - the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.

You have to simply love writing, and you have to remind yourself often that you love it.

Libraries are what is best about us as a society: open, exciting, rich, informative, free, inclusive, engaging.

One of the very best reasons for having children is to be reminded of the incomparable joys of a snow day.

A snow day literally and figuratively falls from the sky, unbidden, and seems like a thing of wonder.

An ordinary life examined closely reveals itself to be exquisite and complicated and exceptional, somehow managing to be both heroic and plain.

There's a marvelous sense of mastery that comes with writing a sentence that sounds exactly as you want it to.

Even after I'd published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.

A rain like melting pillows…a rain so beautifulI could neverhave let go ofif not certainthat someday...it would find its wayinto my poem.

Whatever you believe is true, is.

When people try to rain on your parade, ...pee on theirs

I'm currently in an interesting correspondence with a nun about forgiveness.

The United Nations is an organizational body where people, through their Governments, come together; and it can be the only place where there can be a melting pot.

God sees hearts as we see faces.

Always watch your back - when I was fourteen I got a tattoo of an eye on the back of my neck, so I could say I was always watchin' my back.

I've got to play free agency out, and I've got to look at all of my options.

Fasting and natural diet, though essentially unknown as a therapy, should be the first treatment when someone discovers that he or she has a medical problem.

They said I was the greatest pitcher they ever sawI couldnt understand why they couldnt give me no justice.