A leader leads from in front, by the power of example. A ruler pushes from behind, by means of the club, the whip, the power of fear.

The best people, like the best wines, come from the hills.

In social institutions, the whole is always less than the sum of its parts. There will never be a state as good as its people, or a church worthy of its congregation, or a university equal to its faculty and students.

Preacher to me: 'A dollar for the Lord, brother?' Me to preacher: 'That's all right, I'm headed his way. I'll give it to him when I see him.'

Anywhere, anytime, I'd sacrifice the finest nuance for a laugh, the most elegant trope for a smile.

I have written much about many good places. But the best places of all, I have never mentioned.

So I write mainly for the fun of it, the hell of it, the duty of it. I enjoy writing and will probably be a scribbler on my dying day, sprawled on some stony trail halfway between two dry waterholes.