The ultimate indignity is to be given a bedpan by a stranger who calls you by your first name.

Old age is not a disease - it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.

I enjoy my wrinkles and regard them as badges of distinction - I've worked hard for them!

Old age is an excellent time for outrage.

A healthy community is one in which the elderly protect, care for, love and assist the younger ones to provide continuity and hope.

There are six myths about old age: 1. That it's a disease, a disaster. 2. That we are mindless. 3. That we are sexless. 4. That we are useless. 5. That we are powerless. 6. That we are all alike.

When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say.

Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.

Power should not be concentrated in the hands of so few, and powerlessness in the hands of so many.

The best age is the age you are.

Your body changes, but you don't change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion.

I thought we were perfect for each other.""There's no such thing as perfect, " Eli commiserated.

He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God's providence to lead him aright.

The superfluous, a very necessary thing.

It's funny how a chubby kid can just be having fun, and people call it entertainment!

A consciousness of misfortunes arising from a man's own misconduct aggravates their bitterness.

I quit law in 1988 to start writing, and it took me 17 years from that point to get a book contract. I guess you can say I was on the slow train.

Hollywood wouldn't suit me. In L.A. it's all about work - studio people have their five minutes with you and they go, 'Oh mah Gahd, I love your movie.' You just feel very self-conscious there.

There've been times when I've bought a whole pound of cheese and walked down the street and eaten it in one go.

Leaders respond & change; the rest quit and blame.

Everywhere we look, ideology slouches along the freeways and autoroutes, sometimes carrying a cross, sometimes a sickle, sometimes a crescent, but always busy doing somebody in somewhere, somehow.