The creative writer uses his life as well as being its victim; he can control, in his work, the self-presentation that in actuality is at the mercy of a thousand accidents.

We are most alive when we're in love.

Life is a nacho. It can be yummy-crunchy or squishy-yucky. It just depends on how long it takes for you to start eating it.

Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.

You cannot help but learn more as take the world into your hands. Take it up reverently, for it is and old piece of clay, with millions of thumbprints on it.

A leader is one who, out of madness or goodness, volunteers to take upon himself the woe of the people. There are few men so foolish, hence the erratic quality of leadership in the world.

Most of American life consists of driving somewhere and then returning home, wondering why the hell you went.

The scissors cut the long-grown hair; The razor scrapes the remnant fuzz. Small-jawed, weak-chinned, big-eyed, I stare At the forgotten boy I was.

It is easy to love people in memory; the hard thing is to love them when they are there in front of you.

Inspiration arrives as a packet of material to be delivered.

So much love, too much love, it is our madness, it is rotting us out, exploding us like dandelion polls.

Giving is an open gate to a great life.

Trust becomes the only road home, back to love.

For invented gods invariably disappoint those who worship them.

Study as if you were to live forever. Live as if you were to die tomorrow.

I like people talking about me, about my defense or what I'm doing. I like to see that, and that makes me work hard.

Although they are unfailingly gracious, evangelicals are not so good at respecting professional boundaries.

King Abdullah has died. A divisive figure in the Middle East. The sad irony is that the USA preached democracy in the face of absolute rule.

All front-line combat jobs in the infantry, special operations units and elsewhere are now open to women.

All power is inherent in the people.

Most people are good at a handful of things and utterly miserable at most.