You write to suit some sense in yourself and trust that that will resonate with a certain wider readership.

One of the things that got me on this topic for this book was that when I was researching the column I wrote in 2009 saying that I was stepping down from my column at "Newsweek" because I wanted to make room for newer, fresh voices out there, I discovered that in the year I was born, 1952, the average life expectancy of an American was 68. I was shocked by that figure and every time I mention it I hear a gasp from somebody in the crowd. Now, of course, we're more or less at 80, so that means that we've gotten 12 additional years.

A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.

I learned that if I ever claim sexual harassment, I will be confronted with every bozo I once dated, every women I once impressedas snotty and superior, and together they will provide a convenient excuse to disbelieve me.

This is how I learn most of what I know about my children and their friends: by sitting in the driver's seat and keeping quiet.

There's something undeniable about the posture of a person trying not to acknowledge your existance

I've always had a certain facility with words.