From my table inside I watch the glamorous women outside who are lunching on Spa Cobb salads without blue cheese or dressing. The man with the bread basket wanders from table to table, lonesome as a cloud. When he comes to me his basket is full and perfectly arranged. He gives me a smile of sincere pleasure when I tell him I will take both the sourdough roll and the cheese stick.

For a man to know what he has when he had it, that is what makes him a fortunate man.

We are taught to be suspicious, especially of anyone who might not look like us or share our beliefs.

Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic beings.

Some people need a huge amount of attention, and they are worthy of that attention, and they're still exhausting.

Because of her singing they all went away feeling moved, feeling comforted, feeling, perhaps, the slightest tremors of faith.

I will write my way into another life.