We writers don't really think about whether what we write is good or not. It's too much to worry about. We just put the words down, trying to get them right, operating by some inner sense of pitch and proportion, and from time to time, we stick the stuff in an envelope and ship it to an editor.

No matter what time of year I come here, people always say the same thing: Its not usually like this.

Don't pour the oil directly into my navel, pour it on my sternum and let it run down into my navel, you ignorant peasant.

Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.

They say such nice things about people at their funerals that it makes me sad that I'm going to miss mine by just a few days.

A child can educate just about anybody.

I was afraid you had deceased,' he said. 'Or gotten engrossed in a long book.