In the vastness of space and the immensity of time, it is my joy to share a planet and an epoch with Annie.

The Bill of Rights decoupled religion from the state, in part because so many religions were steeped in an absolutist frame of mind - each convinced that it alone had a monopoly on the truth and therefore eager for the state to impose this truth on others.

Each of us is a tiny being, permitted to ride on the outermost skin of one of the smaller planets for a few dozen trips around the local star.

It's perilous and foolhardy for the average citizen to remain ignorant about global warming, say, or ozone depletion, air pollution, toxic and radioactive wastes, acid rain, topsoil erosion, tropical deforestation, exponential population growth. Jobs and wages depend on science and technology.

The nuclear arms race is like two sworn enemies standing waist deep in gasoline, one with three matches, the other with five.

Stars are phoenixes, rising from their own ashes.

This oak tree and me, we're made of the same stuff.