The days I’d passed with my mom before she died were still there, it seemed, seared into the corners of my heart. The atmosphere of the station brought it all back. I could see myself running to the hospital, glad to be seeing my mother again. You ...
Normally, when you challenge the conventional wisdom—that the current economic and political system is the only possible one—the first reaction you are likely to get is a demand for a detailed architectural blueprint of how an alternative system ...
[At the graduation ball] Todd: Hey, Rebecca. Rebecca: Oh, hi. Todd: So, we finally... Enid: What about me? Am I not even here? Todd: Hey, Enid. [he turns back to Rebecca] Todd: So, we finally made it, huh? Rebecca: Yeah. Todd: So, uh, where are you g...
Sarah: Would he tell me that this door leads to the castle? Guard: [Whispers with his counterparts] Yes? Sarah: So... the other door leads to the castle and this one leads to certain death. Guard: [All the guards Oooh] But he could be telling the tru...
Barbara: They ought to make the day the time changes the first day of summer. Johnny: What? Barbara: Well it's eight o' clock and it's still light. Johnny: A lot of god the extra daylight does us, you know we've still got a three hour drive back, we'...
[Figuring out which con to pull on Lonnegan] J.J. Singleton: I dunno know what to do with this guy, Henry. He's an Irishman who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, and doesn't chase dames. He's a grand knight in the Knights of Columbus, and he only goes ou...
Terence Fletcher: You are upset. [Andrew nods yes] Terence Fletcher: Say it. Andrew: I'm upset. Terence Fletcher: Say it so the whole band can hear you. Andrew: [a little louder] I'm upset! Terence Fletcher: Louder! Andrew: [loud] I'm upset! Terence ...
Deep Throat: You'll have to figure that on your own. Bob Woodward: Look, I'm tired of your chicken shit games! I don't want hints! I need to know what you know! [pause] Deep Throat: [very reluctant tone] The Watergate burglary... it was a Haldeman op...
Marty McFly: [Doc has just been shot. Marty runs over to him] Doc! Doc! Marty McFly: [Marty turns Doc's body over to reveal it is apparently bullet-ridden and lifeless. Marty begins to cry] No! No! Marty McFly: [Doc suddenly blinks and sits up] You'r...
Ron Steigler: Mr. Gardner, uh, my editors and I have been wondering if you would consider writing a book for us, something about your um, political philosophy, what do you say? Chance the Gardener: I can't write. Ron Steigler: Heh, heh, of course not...
...we have, each of us, a story that is uniquely ours, a narrative arc that we can walk with purpose once we figure out what it is. It's the opposite to living our lives episodically, where each day is only tangentially connected to the next, where w...
Suppose a top politician, entertainment figure, or sports star said it didn't really matter who shot Lincoln or why, who attacked Pearl Harbor, the Alamo or the USS Liberty. Imagine the derision. Imagine the ridicule. Imagine the loss in credibility ...
There's something to that in both directions," said Ekaterin mildly. "Nothing is more guaranteed to make one start acting like a child than to be treated like one. It's so infuriating. It took me the longest time to figure out how to stop falling int...
Well,” said a very amused voice. “This is unexpected.” Tessa sat bolt upright, pulling the heavy coverlet around her. Beside her, Will stirred, propping himself up on his elbows, eyelids fluttering open slowly. “What—” The room was filled...
He swiveled his head towards Eddie. "Tell me how to get over to the Four Lads. Do I have to die again?" If he did, he had a Beretta on him and he knew what kicking the bucket from a gunshot was like. Snore. "Don't bother." Adrian cracked his knuckles...
Disaster is rarely as pervasive as it seems from recorded accounts. The fact of being on the record makes it appear continuous and ubiquitous whereas it is more likely to have been sporadic both in time and place. Besides, persistence of the normal i...
This is a perfectly good picture. And if I didn't know you, I would be impressed and charmed. But I do know you." He thought some more, wondering whether he dared say precisely what he felt, for he knew he could never explain exactly why the idea cam...
One of the problems with all of this is that not all narratives are equal. Imagine, to take a silly example, that someone told you story after story extolling the virtues of eating dog shit. You've been told these stories since you were a child. You ...
…There’s forty-two thousand jobs, near ten thousand of ’em got by people like us. Everyone’s gotta eat. Industry feeds ’em. They figure Little Bear here’s gonna clean it up." He squeezed his baby, a dimpled plump girl with tufts of jet-bl...
Rowena Clark and I had met on the first day of our mixed media class. I’d sat down at her table and said, “Mind if I join you? Figure the best way to learn about art is to sit with a masterpiece.” Maybe I was in love, but I was still Adrian Iva...
I learned that the possessions most esteemed by your fellow-creatures were, high and unsullied descent united with riches. A man might be respected with only one of these acquisitions; but without either he was considered, except in very rare instanc...
