I Wanted Nothing Less Than To Be

So If It Seems That Some Of What I'll Have To Say In The Pages To Come Doesn't Reflect The Mellowing Of Age, That's Only Because I've Never Found That Life And Memories Respond To Time The Way That Tobacco Does.

I Wanted Nothing Less Than To Be A Fiction Writer When I Was A Kid. If You Had Told Me I Would Be An Artist Or Novelist When I Grew Up, I Would Have Laughed In Your Face

Imagine, [kriezler] Said, That You Enter A Large, Somewhat Crumbling Hall That Echoes With The Sounds Of People Mumbling And Talking Repetitively To Themselves. All Around You These People Fall Into Prostrate Positions, Some Of Them Weeping. Where Are You? Sara’s Answer Was Immediate: In An Asylum. Perhaps, Kreizler Answered, But You Could Also Be In A Church. In The One Place The Behavior Would Be Considered Mad; In The Other, Not Only Sane, But As Respectable As Any Human Activity Can Be.

It Didn’t Make Any More Sense To Me Then Than It Does Now, How Life Can Pile Troubles Up On A Man What Don’t Deserve Them, While Letting Some Of The Biggest Jackasses And Scoundrels Alive Waltz Their Way Through Long, Untroubled Existences.

Every Human Being Must Find His Own Way To Cope With Severe Loss, And The Only Job Of A True Friend Is To Facilitate Whatever Method He Chooses.