...and I realized no matter what you do it’s bound to be a waste of time in the end so you might as well go mad.

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.

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.

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

Surely the earth can be savedby all the peoplewho insiston love.

My childhood was safe and sane. No abuse and no traumas. I was surrounded by a large and loving family who taught me the importance of hard work and a meaningful education.

To assume a cat's asleep is a grave mistake. He can close his eyes and keep both his ears awake.

I don't expect people to feel sorry for me. My teammates get more upset about the criticism and booing than I do.

Jiu-Jitsu is my therapy, my passion, my life.

Isolation must precede true society.

The orchid is Mother Nature's masterpiece.

I'm living my dream, and that's all you can ask for. At a certain point, you have to ignore all the rest.

If you have an advantage, you have to take advantage of it.

What is wonderful about my art is that dream and reality can become one. There is just one step between the two.