but isn't there always one good thing to look back on? think of how many cups of coffee we drank together.

I just want a hot cup of coffee,black,and I don’t want to hear about your troubles.

a good book can make an almost impossible existence, liveable ( from 'the luck of the word' )

And there I was, 225 pounds, perpetually lost and confused, short legs, ape-like upper body, all chest, no neck, head too large, blurred eyes, hair uncombed, 6 feet of geek, waiting for her.

A yet women -good women- frightened me because they eventually wanted your soul, and what was left of mine, I wanted to keep. Basically I craved prostitutes, base women, because they were deadly and hard and made no personal demands. Nothing was lost when they left. Yet at the same time I yearned for a gentle, good woman, despite the overwhelming price.

When I begin to doubt my ability to work the word, I simply read another writer and know I have nothing to worry about. My contest is only with myself, to do it right, with power, and force, and delight, and gamble.

I am for the small man who has not forgotten, for the man who loves his beer and his women and his sunlight