A man's memory is bound to be a distortion of his past in accordance with his present interests, and the most faithful autobiography is likely to mirror less what a man was than what he has become.

Housework is a breeze. Cooking is a pleasant diversion. Putting up a retaining wall is a lark. But teaching is like climbing a mountain.

A passion for politics stems usually from an insatiable need, either for power, or for friendship and adulation, or a combination of both.

There is, of course, a gold mine or a buried treasure on every mortgaged homestead. Whether the farmer ever digs for it or not, it is there, haunting his daydreams when the burden of debt is most unbearable.

Show me a character whose life arouses my curiosity, and my flesh begins crawling with suspense.

I know people who always travel a little off the path. They are never quite able to follow directions because they can’t see the signs. They are pioneers and they are extraordinary. They are easy to lose, no matter how close I follow. In the blink of an eye, they are gone. I find that if I want to keep them close, I need to use my heart to keep up, not my mind - for my mind will always fall behind.