People do what they are told not to do. It happens time and time again. Here on the frozen tundra, it is known as the Tongue on the Frozen Pump Handle principle.

My ancestors were Puritans from England. They arrived here in 1648 in the hope of finding greater restrictions than were permissible under English law at that time.

It is a sin to believe evil of others but it is seldom a mistake.

A good newspaper is never nearly good enough but a lousy newspaper is a joy forever.

Bad things don't happen to writers; it's all material.

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

When you're in your 20s, your 30s, even, you have - at least, I had - vast ambitions, and you sit around mooning about these things, and you're depressed, because you haven't done them. And it takes you a long time to come to the realization that if you can't be John Updike, well, then, you can't.