I jumped horses over big dangerous fences in competition. And got very, very good at it, at quite a high level. And I realized long since that, yeah, it's the same thing that appeals to me about it. You can't think about anything else, in either case; jumping horses in competition, show jumping, or flying an airplane, for whatever purpose.

Landing the airplane I think is the most difficult thing that I've every learned to do in my life.

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

I love writing. I like reading, other people, not myself.

I may be writing well, I may be writing poorly, but I enjoy the act of writing and sometimes when it turns out okay, I feel an elation that is incomparable.

Hackman is able to live in the moment which means there is nothing for him at that split second than what is occurring in the scene.

I would say that writing, both the act of writing, and of course reading of other people's work is, for me, supreme joy.