As for kissing on the first date, you should never date someone whom you would not wish to kiss immediately.

Vodka is tasteless going down, but it is memorable coming up.

A book is a gift you can open again and again.

When you're old you feast on your memories, and if you spend too much time on exercise, you may get old and not have many.

This is Democratic bedrock: we don't let people lie in the ditch and drive past and pretend not to see them dying. Here on the frozen tundra of Minnesota, if your neighbor's car won't start, you put on your parka and get the jumper cables out and deliver the Sacred Spark that starts their car. Everybody knows this. The logical extension of this spirit is social welfare and the myriad government programs with long dry names all very uninteresting to you until you suddenly need one.

When writing loses touch with the beautiful surface of the world, it loses its way. You always want to be in touch with how things look and what people say and what they call their dogs.

Welcome to Lake Wobegon, where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.