I do not go outdoors. Not more than I have to. As far as I'm concerned, the whole point of living in New York City is indoors. You want greenery? Order the spinach.

Not being funny doesn't make you a bad person. Not having a sense of humor does.

Well into adulthood, writing has never gotten easier. It still only ever begins badly, and there are no guarantees that this is not the day when the jig is finally up.

Altruism is innate, but it's not instinctual. Everybody's wired for it, but a switch has to be flipped.

Being a stranger was like being dead, and brought to mind how, in a book he had read that most folks misunderstood one common state: The flip side of love is indifference, not hate.

We’re creatures of contact regardless of whether/ we kiss or we wound. Still, we must come together.

There is nothing so cleansing or reassuring as a vicarious sadness.

Youth is not wasted on the young, it is perpetrated on the young.

Central to living a life that is good, is a life that's forgiving.

I am neither spontaneous nor ready for anything.

I have managed to establish an identity that is based on my internal self, and for that I feel tremendously lucky.

The only way to set yourself free is to meet each new challenge relatively.

Can you, at a minimum, objectively step back—throw out the stereotypes, ditch the conformity, set aside the religion—and ask yourself, why? Why Jesus?

Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God's greatest gift to man.

Every minute we waste in frustration over a task that seems overwhelming is a minute subtracted from the time we've allotted to enjoy life.

Some men are like a clock on the roof; they are useful only to the neighbors.

A prison is confining to the body, but whether it affects the mind, depends entirely upon the mind.

Ensure that no Marine who honorably wore the eagle, globe and anchor is lost to the Marine Corps family.

The more technology we introduce into society, the more people will aggregate, will want to be with other people: movies, rock concerts, shopping.

Marry yourself first -- promise never to leave you!

Every diamond has the ability to shine when there is someone to recognize its good facets and inhibit its flaws.