If I can’t do what I want to do, then my job is to not do what I want to do. It’s not the same thing, but it’s the best thing I can do.
Sacred cows make very poor gladiators.
The catchword I use with my classes is: The authority of the writer always overcomes the skepticism of the reader.
I had a really nice childhood; I had great parents. I earned my allowance by washing dishes, and in the summer I earned my allowance by working in daddy’s garden.
The poet Melvin B. Tolson once said, ‘A civilization is judged only in its decline.’ That made sense to me. I would imagine the same is true for poets and tennis players.
I always loved English because whatever human beings are, we are storytellers. It is our stories that give a light to the future. When I went to college I became a history major because history is such a wonderful story of who we think we are. English is much more a story of who we really are.
And you will understand all too soon That you, my children of battle, are your heroes.
I move on feeling and have learned to distrust those who don’t.
Some say we are responsible for those we love. Others know we are responsible for those who love us.
One stands, in fact, in awe of the Constitution of the United States, though it is an idea and not quite a reality.
When younger, I thought one of the particulars of being “Homo sapiens” was to communicate. I have not learned not to, though I am cautious when I try.
Educational progress is a national concern; education is a private one.
Just as nature abhors a vacuum, humans resist change. Change will occur; vacuums will be filled.
It’s really just interesting to ask: why not? And see where that takes me.
I spend a lot of time learning about bird watching.
I appreciate and enjoy my age.
Now, everything I do, I do because I want to. And I believe the best is yet to come.
There are some things we do simply because the doing is a success.
Death is a slave’s freedom.
Follow your image as far as you can no matter how useless you think it is. Push yourself.