I think each family has a funhouse logic all its own, and in that distortion,in that delusion, all behavior can seem both perfectly normal and crazy.

Regret doesn't budge things; it seems crazy that the force of all that human want can't amend a moment, can't even stir a pebble.

The cracks in old friendships are measured in awkward pauses.

Things don't go away. They become you.

When you know you are dying, self-deceptions fly from your bedside like embers off a bonfire.

Passion and platonic friendliness, often contrary siblings, frequently wear similar faces to hide the great distance between them.

A tragedy's first act is crowded with supporting players: witnesses crimping their faces, policemen scribbling in pads and making radio calls, EMS guys unfolding equipment, tubes and wheels.

Love wasn't a thing you fell in, but rose to. It was what stopped you from falling.

Sometimes one learns too early, as I did, what the world is capable of.

Diminish the influence of fate

At home in bed that first night I had patchy, mundane dreams about normal things. It would be nobler and less uncomfortable to write that I tossed sleeplessly.

You will need an evidence to show the world that you didn’t waste your time here on earth. Generations to come should benefit from the products of your time converted.

A school for the writing of nonsense and the pursuit of extraordinary activities.

Moment by moment, in life's winter, life frozeEchoing a history of blues, a milestone roseFrom A Farewell A welcome

There can be no failure to a man who has not lost his courage, his character, his self respect, or his self-confidence. He is still a King.

There may not be much future for the kind of sports column I did.

He's been dead for so many years, but I'm still trying to impress him. That's what gave me my drive. 'Look at me, Dad, I've succeeded.'

We [U.S.S.R. and U.S.A.] can exist peacefully together if we don't indulge in too much mutual fault-finding in all kinds of trifles.

Right now, for instance, we resist giving people extra time on exams or for assignments, as though it's unfair to the faster students.

What I used to do with a passion, foolishly and vainly imagining I would change the world for the better, I no longer tolerate in myself or anyone else. But draw, always draw - and WRITE.

My theory has always been that everyone in show business is there because they were deprived of some attention as a child.