Life is just a short walk from the cradle to the grave -- and it sure behooves us to be kind to one another along the way.

"Like snowflakes, the human pattern is never cast twice. We are uncommonly and marvelously intricate in thought and action, our problems are most complex and, too often, silently borne."

"I continue to create because writing is a labor of love and also an act of defiance, a way to light a candle in a gale wind: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word was God.""

Some feminists feel that a woman should never be wrong. We have a right to be wrong.

"Writers are encouraged to "keep 'em laughing" and complain "with good humor" in order to "win" allies. The joke is always on ourselves."