I pretty much always knew I wanted to be a writer. I was writing goofy stories when I was 7 or 8. That was what I call 'wishful-thinking writing.' I grew up in the city and always wanted a horse, but there was no way I was getting a horse. So I wrote...
I once received a letter from an old lady in California who informed me that when the tired reader comes home at night, he wishes to read something that will lift up his heart. And it seems her heart had not been lifted up by anything of mine she had...
I stroked Eric's hair, tucking some behind his ear. His eyes on mine were intent, and I knew he was waiting for me to speak. "I wish," I said, "I could save orgasms in a jar for when i need them, because I think I had a few extra." Eric's eyes widene...
Suddenly, there was an enormous flash of light, the brightest light I have ever seen or that I think anyone has ever seen. It blasted; it pounced; it bored its way into you. It was a vision which was seen with more than the eye. It was seen to last f...
Oh! you are a great deal too apt, you know, to like people in general. You never see fault in any body. All the world are good and agreeable in your eyes. I never heard you speak ill of a human being in my life." "I would wish not to be hasty in cens...
Ilsa: I can't fight it anymore. I ran away from you once. I can't do it again. Oh, I don't know what's right any longer. You have to think for both of us. For all of us. Rick: All right, I will. Here's looking at you, kid. Ilsa: [smiles] I wish I did...
Clarence: Oh, now wait a minute. That's an idea now, isn't it? [looks upward] Clarence: What do you think? Ahhh... All right, George, you've got your wish: you've never been born. [Wind begins to blow violently outside the shack; Clarence yells out t...
Sam: I feel I'm in a real family now. Not like yours, but similar to one. Suzy: I always wished I was an orphan. Most of my favorite characters are. I think your lives are more special. Sam: I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about. S...
Max Jerry Horovitz: Tell Bernie Clifford your birth mark is made of chocolate, which means when you get to heaven you will be in charge of all the chocolate. This of course is a lie, I do not like lies, but in this case I think it will be of benefit....
Neighbor: I wish you'd all lay off for tonight! I can't hear myself think with that racket! Doyle: Hey! HEY! Neighbor: Knock it off or I'm calling the police! Doyle: I told you three times already, the law's on my side! I play cards with J.D. Shelnut...
[last lines] John Milner: I know, uh... you probably think you're a big shot, goin' off like this... John Milner: [he slaps Curt] ... but you're still a punk. Curt Henderson: OK, John... So long... So long! [Steve, Terry, Laurie and John wish Curt go...
So when it came to role models, I looked at presidents' wives. Of course, you're talking about a farm girl who stood in the fields, dreaming, years ago, wishing she was that kind of person. But if I had been that kind of person, do you think I could ...
All boys wish to be manly; but they often try to become so by copying the vices of men rather than their virtues. They see men drinking, smoking, swearing; so these poor little fellows sedulously imitate such bad habits, thinking they are making them...
Anne, I don't want to live. . . . Now listen, life is lovely, but I Can't Live It. I can't even explain. I know how silly it sounds . . . but if you knew how it Felt. To be alive, yes, alive, but not be able to live it. Ay that's the rub. I am like a...
Enrollments in American colleges tripled between 1955 and 1970, 250% in the Soviet Union, 400% in France, and more than 200% in China by 1965. Gaddis writes, "What governments failed to foresee was that more young people, plus, more education, when c...
Mr. Fox: [Mr. Fox on a motorcycle speaking to a wolf off on a distant ridge] Where did you come from? Mr. Fox: What are you doing here? Mr. Fox: I don't think he speaks English or Latin Mr. Fox: Pensez-vous que l'hiver sera rude? Mr. Fox: [as an asid...
[Edward and Elinor are baiting Margaret, who is playfully hiding] Edward Ferrars: I, eh, wish to check the position of the Nile. My sister tells me it is in South America. Elinor Dashwood: Oh. No. No, um, she's quite wrong, um, for I believe it is in...
I follow the course marked out by my principles and, what is more, enjoy a deep and noble pleasure in following it. You deeply despise the human race, at least our part of it; you think it not only fallen but incapable of ever rising again... For my ...
The biggest mistake I made is the one that most of us make while doing this. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of the three on them sitting ...
I wish I knew who I am," I whispered to the stars in Baya's eyes. Slowly, Baya shook his head. "Oh, Dust Girl, that's the hardest wish of all. Not even Baya can give you that one. That one you earn.
If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling...