But then as time passed, I learned the lesson that parents do early on. You fail sometimes. No matter how much you love your children, there are times you slip. There are moments you can't give, stutter, lose your temper, or simply lose face with the world, and you can't explain this to a child.

Right and wrong were shades of meaning, not sides of a coin.

We all got holes in our lives. Nobody dies in a perfect garment.

When every inch of the world is known, sleep may be the only wilderness that we have left.

The only time I see the truth is when I cross my eyes.

...Grandpa's mind had left us, gone wild and wary. When I walked with him I could feel how strange it was. His thoughts swam between us, hidden under rocks, disappearing in weeds, and I was fishing for them, dangling my own words like baits and lures.

Your life feels different on you, once you greet death and understand your heart's position.