And like most middle-aged people who hear the clock ticking in their lives, I had come to resent a waste or theft of my time that was greater than any theft of my goods or money.

Hackberry Holland's greatest fear was his fellow man's propensity to act collectively, in militaristic lockstep, under the banner of God and country. Mobs did not rush across town to do good deeds, and in Hackberry's view, there was no more odious taint on any social or political endeavor than universal approval.

I feel blessed in the knowledge that I probably belong to the last generation that will remember what we call "traditional America."

You do it a day at a time. You just put your rejection slips in a shoebox and tell yourself one day you're going to autograph them and sell them at auction.

Age is a clever thief. It takes a little from you each day, so you're not aware of your loss until it'd irreversible.

Money can't buy happiness but it'll sure keep a mess of grief off your front porch.

God bless the Reference Librarians