August 14 Birthdays

A day without sunshine is like, you know, night.

A good role for a woman is hard to come bybe she black, white, or sky-blue pink.

About as modest as Mussolini.

What Im not saying is that all government spending is bad. Its not - far, far from it, but there is no free lunch, as a former colleague of mine used to say. There is no public tooth fairy. Father Christmas does not work on the Treasury staff this year. You can never bail someone out of trouble without putting someone else into trouble.

As a complete product of Issaquah public schools, there is absolutely no way I would be here if I didnt have well-funded arts programs and some great teachers who were constantly pushing me intellectually and personally.

Great restaurants are, of course, nothing but mouth-brothels. There is no point in going to them if one intends to keep one's belt buckled.

Dear friends of Haiti, we are indeed on the right track. Slowly but surely we are rising from the ashes.

I think hearts are very much like glasses. If they do not break with the first ring, they usually last a considerable time.

As a novelist, I tend to know significantly more about my characters than I do about my friends.

Those who remember Washingtons cold war culture in the 1980s will recall the shocked reactions to Reagans intervention. People interested in foreign policy were astonished when in 1985 he met alone at Geneva - alone, not a single strategic thinker at his elbow! - with the Soviet Communist master Gorbachev.

Im just thankful for everything, all the blessings in my life, trying to stay that way. I think thats the best way to start your day and finish your day. It keeps everything in perspective.

My advice is, don't spend money on therapy. Spend it in a record store.

Maybe some people just aren't meant to be in our lives forever. Maybe some people are just passing through. It's like some people just come through our lives to bring us something: a gift, a blessing, a lesson we need to learn. And that's why they're here. You'll have that gift forever.

I never liked my own species.

They said playing basketball would kill me. Well, not playing basketball was killing me.