America beats on you so hard the whole time. You are constantly being pummeled by other people's rights and their sense of patriotism.

My father died in my arms. That's tumult. That's everything exploding.

You're only good if you can do bad and decide not to.

I'm kind of a distractible guy.

Maybe I'm a serial regional writer. First here, then there, across the map.

Theres a lot to be said for doing what youre not supposed to do, and the rewards of doing what youre supposed to do are more subtle and take longer to become apparent, which maybe makes it less attractive. But your life is the blueprint you make after the building is built.

For a time after my divorce everything began to seem profoundly ironic to me. I found myself thinking of other peoples' worries as sources of amusement and private derision which I thought about at night to make myself feel better.