Movements toward freedom and the self-respect that comes from something other than what people think is their most important feature.

When you stiffen, you know that whatever you stiffen about is very important. The stuff is important, the fear itself is information.

[Obama is ] creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom . . . [He is] the man for this time.

I think there's data, and then there's information that comes from data, and then there's knowledge that comes from information. And then, after knowledge, there is wisdom. I am interested in how to get from data to wisdom.

A man ain't nothing but a man. But a son? Well, now, that's somebody.

How soon country people forget. When they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. As though there never was a time when they didn't love it. The minute they arrive at the train station or get off the ferry and glimpse the wide streets and the wasteful lamps lighting them, they know they are born for it. There, in a city, they are not so much new as themselves: their stronger, riskier selves.

What do you say? There really are no words for that. There really aren't. Somebody tries to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' People say that to me. There's no language for it. Sorry doesn't do it. I think you should just hug people and mop their floor or something.