The knowledge that my discriminations are skewed and not always universally desirable doesn't stop me in the least from making them.

In new work, we need to see the shadow, however faint, of previous literary effort.

My wife and daughter have accused me of being too silent at breakfast but I don't want to talk when I don't have much to say.

Why am I attracted to all these lying quotes all of a sudden? Here’s another one. This one by Phillip Lopate: ‘(Children know it better than adults) that in telling a lie, fidelity is everything.’

Indeed, at times it's best to shut up.

If someone in my family is getting emotionally bent out of shape, I've had to learn to adapt.

Doubt is my boon companion, the faithful St. Bernard ever at my side. Whether writing essays or just going about daily life, I am constantly second-guessing myself. My mind is filled with 'yes, buts,' 'so whats?' and other skeptical rejoinders. I am forever monitoring myself for traces of folly, insensitivity, arrogance, false humility, cruelty, stupidity, immaturity and, guess what, I keep finding examples. Age has not made me wiser, except maybe in retrospect.