I know there are writers who feel unhappy with domesticity and who even manufacture domestic turmoil in order to have something to write about. With me, though, the happier I feel, the better I write.

Travel works best when you're forced to come to terms with the place you're in.

I hate vacations. I hate them. I have no fun on them. I get nothing done. People sit and relax, but I don't want to relax. I want to see something.

Writing is pretty crummy on the nerves.

All travel is circular. I had been jerked through Asia, making a parabola on one of the planet's hemispheres. After all, the grand tour is just the inspired man's way of heading home.

A gun show is about like-minded people who feel as if everything has been taken away from them - jobs, money, pride.

Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.