But kids don't stay with you if you do it right. It's the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won't be needed in the long run.

Value is not made of money, but a tender balance of expectation and longing.

This Forest eats itself and lives forever.

It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't.

Quit smoking, and observe posted speed limits. This will improve your odds of getting old enough to be wise.

On the day I swore to uphold the Hippocratic oath, the small hairs on the back of my neck stood up as I waited for lightning to strike. Who was I, vowing calmly among all these necktied young men to steal life out of nature's jaws, every old time we got half a chance and a paycheck?... I could not accept the contract: that every child born human upon this earth comes with a guarantee of perfect health and old age clutched in its small fist.

The older I get, the more I appreciate my rural childhood. I spent a lot of time outdoors, unsupervised, which is a blessing.