Of all the excellent copyedits I've received over the years, Marie-Lynn Hammond's was by far the best. Her work on Half Blood Blues was incredibly sensitive and astute.

Folks think a lifetime is a thing stretched out over years. It ain't. It can happen quick as a match in a dark room.

To me, chocolate was the sole reason we on this earth.

I guess mercy is a muscle like any other. You got to exercise it, or it just cramp right up.

Ain't no glory made from being dependable.

It's like that, I guess, when the past come to collect what you owe.

It's early yet. It's always early, while you still alive.

What is luck but something made to run out.

Ain't no man can outrun his fate.

The kid come in at a strange angle, made the notes glitter like crystal.

Canada kills any conversation quick, I learned long ago. It's a little trick of mine.

Beyond reducing individual use, one of our top priorities must be to move from fossil fuels to energy that has fewer detrimental effects on water supplies and fewer environmental impacts overall.

We cannot sow seeds with clenched fists. To sow we must open our hands.

Men, being conditioned badly, are always feeling nooses closing around their necks, even dumpy boors no girl would take on a bet.

The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government.

The people must fight on behalf of the law as though for the city wall.

I know how to run a nationally paced campaign.

Because of the Incarnation, I salute all remaining matter with reverence.

Thrift is not some obsolete Victorian notion. . . . It will be the difference between those who prosper and achieve respect and those who become a burden to their children and society.

Since the time of Plato and Aristotle philosophers have had an interest in taking note of common fallacies in reasoning.

People with a high tolerance for boredom can get a lot of thinking done.