Rule books are paper - they will not cushion a sudden meeting of stone and metal.

Anyone can do the job when things are going right. In this business we play for keeps.

There are two kinds of airplanes - those you fly and those that fly you . . . You must have a distinct understanding at the very start as to who is the boss.

Nobody who gets too damned relaxed builds up much flying time.

There is no more alluring airspace in the world than the slit up a China girl's dress.

Electronics were rascals, and they lay awake nights trying to find some way to screw you during the day. You could not reason with them. They had a brain and intestines, but no heart.

The emergencies you train for almost never happen. It's the one you can't train for that kills you.

Flying is hypnotic and all pilots are willing victims to the spell.

MaCleod, since you've flown the SeaBee a lot you'll understand when I say it was the only airplane I ever owned that you could put in a dive, loose a cylinder and stall out!

I want a boat that drinks 6, eats 4, and sleeps 2.

It's remarkable how quickly a good and favorable wind can sweep away the maddening frustrations of shore living.

Taiki was watching the kings talk, feeling the kind of happiness that can only come after a long sorrow.

It is so easy to believe in pleasant impossibilities.

Any person can achieve greatness if they understand the philosophy of success and the steps required to achieve it.

Without a doubt, my richest relationships are my long-term friendships with musical partners, because we make music together. That's what we love to do with our lives.

A memoir is always the most authentic telling of a situation, but a novel gets to different places.

What is the difference between method and device? A method is a device which you use twice.

It's easier and sociabler to talk technique than it is to make art.

Joy Is for the simple or the great to feel, Neither of which we are.

I don't tend to have a favorite album; I tend to have favorite tracks. There are flaws in every album that spoil it for me.

The waves of hatred-night can easily be dissolved in the sea of oneness-love.