Taking pleasure in the dark side may be some sort of occupational hazard for reporters.

It was a given in our family that my father was a grocer so that I wouldn't have to be.

Once, in Lisbon, I tried my best to work the phone book in a way that would assuage a longing [Alice and I] had for certain Chinese dishes . . . .

The ceiling on taxation of capital gains reflects the national belief that speculation is a more worthwhile way to make a living than work.

What campaigns are for is weeding out the people who, for one way or another, weren't making it for the long haul.

Sometimes, if I had until the next day to turn the story in, I'd head home, finding that the knot in the narrative came loose with the rhythmic clacking of the subway train.

By the way, did you fellows know that a hummingbird weighs as much as a quarter? Do you think a hummingbird also weighs the same as two dimes and a nickel? But then she asked a question of her own: How do they weigh a hummingbird?