To get from people you had to give a piece of yourself, a real piece that mattered. Just being nice was not enough.

With Shakespeare and poetry, a new world was born. New dreams, new desires, a self consciousness was born. I desired to know to know myself in terms of the new standards set by these books.

To live with the conscious knowledge of the shadow of uncertainty, with the knowledge that disaster or tragedy could strike at any time; to be afraid and to know and acknowledge your fear, and still to live creatively and with unstinting love: that is to live with grace.

Mom had the kind of love for her that you could feel, like it was part of the atmosphere

What do you get out of hating people, out of having this bitterness in your heart always?

Many have changed so much that they have lost the magic of the dream that carried them on their own bootstraps.

You can't walk alone. Many have given the illusion, but none have really walked alone. Man is not made that way. Each man is bedded in his people, their history, their culture, and their values.