The thing my father was proudest of was the Ayres clock at the intersection of Washington Street and Meridian. That made him so happy. Ayres complained because he wouldn't send them a bill. There was stuff my family had done there - particularly my father and grandfather - that was quite permanent and wonderful.

It's the writer's job to stage confrontations, so the characters will say surprising and revealing things, and educate and entertain us all.

That’s the attractive thing about war,” said Rosewater. “Absolutely everybody gets a little something.

Unfortunately, that still leaves plenty of Americans who don't read much or think much -- who will still be extremely useful in unjust wars. We are sick about that. We did the best we could.

In those days great teachers at Shortridge [High School] were celebrities. I would look up to them.

As a matter of social class Ku Klux Klan would have been regarded as white trash.

They like life alright, but that they would like it even better if they could know that it was going to end sometime.